An inactive weather satellite of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration of the United States, known as NOAA-17, exploded in space, [...] the 18th Space Control Squadron of the United States Air Force (Air Force) reported on Twitter.
The incident occurred on March 10. According to the U.S. Air Force's 18th Space Control Squadron, 16 spacecraft debris is currently being tracked in low-Earth orbit. The reasons for the incident are not reported. It is known that the incident was not caused by a collision with another space object.
In March, the publication ArsTechnica reported that the American company SpaceX has almost reached its main goal, which is to use the first stage of the Falcon 9 heavy rocket ten times.
NOAA-17 manufactured by Lockheed Martin was launched into space in June 2002. The planned service life of the satellite is two years. The spacecraft was deactivated in April 2013. In space, NOAA-17 operated at altitudes of 800-817 kilometers.
Ivan Potapov
