[meteorite-list] SPACE JUNK

[Sterling K. Webb]

Hi,

    In addition to the 700-odd pieces of China's
self-shot-down satellite, many of which will work
their way down to meteor like re-entries at various 
future dates, you can add 1100+ more pieces of
defunct spaceware:  http://spaceweather.com/

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    Australian astronomer Ray Palmer was photographing 
the Southern Cross from his observatory in Western 
Australia on Feb. 19th when a flaming plume cut across 
the Milky Way. "I had no idea what it was," he says. 
"It was moving very slowly and I was able to track 
it for 35 minutes."   
    In mid-apparition the object exploded. Gordon 
Garradd of New South Wales photographed an 
expanding cloud filled with specks of debris. Tim 
Thorpe of South Australia saw it, too. "Quite a 
surreal scene," he says. 
    What was it? It was a mystery for almost 24 hours 
until satellite expert Daniel Deak matched the trajectory 
of the plume in Palmer's photo with the orbit of a 
derelict rocket booster--"a Briz-M, catalog number 
28944." 
    One year ago, the Briz-M sat atop a Russian Proton 
rocket that left Earth on Feb. 28, 2006, carrying an 
Arabsat-4A communications satellite. Shortly after 
launch, the rocket malfunctioned, leaving the satellite 
in the wrong orbit and the Briz-M looping around 
Earth partially-filled with fuel. On Feb. 19, 2007, 
for reasons unknown, the fuel tanks ruptured over 
Australia. 
    Jon P. Boers of the USAF Space Surveillance 
System confirms the ID and notes "later, on the 
other side of the world, our radar saw 500+ pieces 
in that orbit." Today the count is up to 1111 fragments. 
"[We're seeing] more fragments as the cloud expands," 
he explains.
    One thousand-plus fragments makes this "a major 
breakup event," says Mark Matney of NASA's Orbital 
Debris Office at the Johnson Space Center. "There is 
no immediate threat to the space station, but we're 
analyzing the orbits to assess any long-term hazard." 
    "Unlike recent high profile breakups, Briz-M is in 
an orbit that is difficult for most radars to see," adds 
Boers. "The generation of element sets on all the pieces 
will take weeks to accomplish."
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    Maybe the Russian junker ran into some piece of the 
Chinese junker?

    Depending on the orbit, some of this stuff will stay up
for generations and some will come down (to make holes 
in New Hampshire ponds?) Since the Briz-M seems to
have exploded in all directions, we're likely to get some
pieces down before too long.

    There's a very colorful photo of the explosive trail,
visible for 35 minutes, as the Astronomy Picture of the
Day for today (02-22-07):
http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html


Sterling K. Webb