20-Year-Old Military Weather Satellite Explodes In Orbit 253
schwit1 writes A 20-year-old U.S. military weather satellite apparently exploded for no obvious reason. The incident has put several dozen pieces of space junk into orbit. From the article: "A 20-year-old military weather satellite apparently exploded in orbit Feb. 3 following what the U.S. Air Force described as a sudden temperature spike. The “catastrophic event” produced 43 pieces of space debris, according to Air Force Space Command, which disclosed the loss of the satellite Feb. 27 in response to questions from SpaceNews. The satellite, Defense Meteorological Satellite Program Flight 13, was the oldest continuously operational satellite in the DMSP weather constellation."
Star Wars! (Score:4, Insightful)
Explosion after a measurable temperature hike sounds more like a laser or maser attack than a collision. With a collision, there would not be much to measure.
Ok, if the collision just severed some pipes or power or control lines, a temperature hike might also be part of the first consequence. But that would be boring.
Re:Star Wars! (Score:2, Insightful)
A laptop battery has a greater energy density than a hand grenade.
20 year old laptop batteries?
Maybe you should consider what you are saying before you say it.
Re:Well, I guess now we know... (Score:4, Insightful)
While possible, it could also be something mundane like failure of station-keeping thrusters.
Re:It should stand two degrees, for sure! (Score:4, Insightful)