What was left of a Russian Kosmos 2499 satellite shattered in January 2023. The rupture of the machine caused the formation of 85 new fragments, in Earth orbit already far too polluted with debris.
A Russian satellite has disintegrated in orbit, we learned on February 7, 2023, relays Space. The craft, a Kosmos 2499 satellite, broke up on January 4th. This is not the first time that this satellite has been involved in such an incident. He had already broken on October 23, 2021. It is therefore likely that the new event is a rupture of the part that remained of the satellite since 2021.
The breakup of the satellite was confirmed by the 18th Space Defense Squadron (18 SDS), a unit of the United States Space Force (the branch of the armed forces linked to space operations), dedicated to space surveillance. The 18 SDS detects, tracks and identifies man-made objects in space. The device broke on January 4 around 5 a.m. (metropolitan France time). The rupture of Kosmos 2499 was associated with the presence of 85 pieces, which evolve in a cloud of debris at 1,169 km altitude. An analysis is underway to study this debris, specifies the 18 SDS.
As our Space colleagues indicate, this new cloud of space debris is so high that it will probably take a century or more for it to fall. In other words, as much time for these pieces of satellite to disintegrate on contact with the Earth’s atmosphere. For now, the cause of the incident that broke the Russian satellite is unknown. Its propulsion system could be involved, but nothing is confirmed.
What is this Russian satellite that broke in orbit?
Kosmos 2499 was launched into space in May 2014 from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome, north of Moscow. We did not know what type of object it was. Amateur astronomers and satellite trackers had observed the object, identified as 2014-28E, and its curious maneuvers towards Russian space objects. In October 2014, the United States identified the object as a payload, not a fragment or debris. The activities of the satellite had let suspect that it was used to test a technology of neutralization of other satellites. At the time, the Russian agency Roscosmos had denied, assuring that its machine had been designed only for peaceful purposes.
Kosmos 2499 apparently remained active for several years, with maneuvers still carried out in 2017. Then, it became inactive. With the end of its mission, it has been added to the many space debris that pollute the space above our heads. Its fragmentation into dozens of pieces is not good news.
The subject of space debris is worrying: ESA (European Space Agency) estimated that there are more than 10,600 tons of objects in Earth orbit, and 36,500 pieces of space debris larger than 10 cm. These fragments of satellites and rockets are a huge danger for the International Space Station, which must regularly avoid them. In addition to the collisions between debris which are to be feared, there is also the problem of explosions in orbit.
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