According to reports, this is a KOSMOS 2499 satellite that disintegrated in space as early as January 4. Although it has been more than a month, no one knows the reason for its disintegration.
Speaking of which, the identity of the KOSMOS 2499 satellite is still a bit mysterious. It was launched in May 2014, but Russia was very low-key at the time, secretly launching this satellite with the other three satellites, but did not disclose its identity. The United States once thought it was a piece of space junk, but later discovered that it had its own power, which made Western media doubt the identity of the satellite.
Russia insists that the satellite is a purely scientific satellite, used to test technologies such as plasma propulsion engines/ion thrusters. The United States and other countries believe that this satellite has other functions, such as maintenance, space junk, and may even carry anti-satellite weapons.
Jonathan McDowell, an astronomer at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics in the United States, is an expert in tracking space junk. He said that on October 23, 2021, the KOSMOS 2499 satellite disintegrated, and a total of 22 pieces of trackable debris were produced at that time. of space junk.
There are many reasons for the disintegration of the satellite. At that time, astronomers believed that the KOSMOS 2499 satellite may have collided with space junk or micrometeorites and exploded. Unexpectedly, almost 15 months later, it disintegrated twice.
Two consecutive disintegrations made scientists think that there should be very few coincidences. They speculated that perhaps there was a problem with the satellite’s propulsion system, which caused the explosion. This scenario is not impossible, in fact, as recently as 2020, another similar Russian satellite, KOSMOS 2491, was believed to have exploded due to a faulty propulsion system.
However, this is just a guess. The real reason for the disintegration of this satellite may not have a definite answer for a long time.
After the second disintegration in January, the KOSMOS 2499 satellite produced 85 pieces of trackable space junk. The height of these fragments is 1169 kilometers. According to the calculations of scientists, it will take at least several decades for them to re-enter the atmosphere and burn up. Until then, they will all remain in orbit, posing a threat to human spacecraft. Even if the KOSMOS 2499 satellite itself was not disintegrated by colliding with space junk, its debris could spell doom for other satellites.
Not to mention, on January 27 this year, two out-of-control spacecraft left in space by the former Soviet Union almost collided. One is the wreckage of the SL-8 rocket, and the other is the decommissioned satellite Cosmos 2361, which passed by only 6 meters on a 984-kilometer orbit. Any closer could cause them to collide, creating thousands of pieces of space junk.
As more and more spacecraft are launched by humans, space junk poses a growing threat. How many more spacecraft will be at risk if we don’t take steps to protect the space above us.
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