The picture shows a simulation of a satellite falling into the atmosphere. In less than ten days, what are the reasons behind it? Some people believe that the two satellites of China and the United States have exploded one after another. Such explosions may not be simple accidents. Who did it? After the reasons were exposed, it was chilling.
The accident occurred in a very short time interval. Not long ago, the US satellite exploded and the explosion formed 16 fragments, and then the Chinese satellite exploded and 21 fragments were formed. It is worth mentioning that the incident was announced by US Space Force at the first time. Afterwards, it stated that it would continue to track satellite debris. This also reflects from the side that the so-called US Space Force monitors all satellites in orbit at the moment and makes no secret of this behavior.
In the accident , the satellite codename of in the United States is NOAA17. It is a meteorological satellite launched in 2002 and has already been scrapped. The Chinese satellite is Yunhai-1 02, which was launched in 2019. The former is in working condition. Although it is extremely rare to generate debris from satellite damage in orbit, it is not uncommon. There are three main reasons: meteorite impact, collision with other spacecraft, and destruction during anti-satellite tests. In recent years, satellites have been destroyed, and anti-satellite technology verifications have accounted for the vast majority. The only collision incident occurred in February 2009. The US Iridium 33 and Russia’s discontinued Cosmos-2251 satellite were in . The collision over Siberia created a precedent for a disorderly collision of spacecraft.
Simulation picture of orbiting satellites
Whether it is a mutual collision of spacecraft or a meteorite collision,Even anti-satellite interception has a common feature, which will produce a lot of debris. Take Iridium 33 and Russia’s Cosmos-2251 as an example. The collision between the two produced thousands of fragments. These fragments are distributed between 500 kilometers and 1,300 kilometers in height, covering a very wide range. Not only that, but also within the orbit. The other spacecraft in China pose no small risks. This time, the Chinese and American satellites exploded one after another, and only 37 fragments were formed. It is not so much an explosion, it is more appropriate to disintegrate.
anti-satellite test
Among them, the disintegration of the NOAA17 satellite is not surprising, because this satellite has been in orbit for nearly 20 years and has already been scrapped. There are not no examples of disintegration caused by the failure of the satellite. In 2016, Japan's "Hitomi" satellite disintegrated in orbit due to a technical failure. After the disintegration, about 10 pieces of debris were generated. It can be seen that although the possibility of disintegration of NOAA17 is not high, it is not impossible. Therefore, the disintegration is very reasonable. Explanation. The disintegration of Yunhai 1 02 is very sudden. Although the two satellites are not coplanar, the orbital heights of the two satellites are not much different. The altitude of Yunhai 1 02 is about 780 kilometers, while the orbital height of NOAA17 is 811 kilometers. Therefore, it is not impossible that the fragments caused by the disintegration of NOAA17 hit Yunhai 1 02 with a relatively small relative velocity.
The problem of space junk has become more and more serious
Although the exact reason for the two satellites' disintegration has not been announced, it also reminds us that there is more and more space junk ( The total amount of debris including debris exceeds 100,000 pieces). If there is no way to clean up space junk and scrap satellite debris, future satellite launches will become more and more dangerous.
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