On October 20, 2021, the satellite russe Kosmos-2551 fell from space. Passing through the Earth’s atmosphere, it then transformed into a fireball visible from several cities in the United States. In these towns, several people managed to take pictures of the scene. Videos were even recorded by people not only in the north, but also in the south of the country.
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Recall that Kosmos-2551 was launched by the Russians on September 9, 2021. Unfortunately, once in space, he never managed to adjust his orbit. So he would have fallen to Earth one day or another.
According to AMS, the fireball that this Russian satellite has become ignited towards 00:43 HAE (Eastern Daylight Time).
More than 80 testimonials received by AMS
As a result of this transformation of Kosmos-2551 into a fireball, theAmerican Meteor Society (AMS) has been contacted by more than 80 people. She then received multiple images and videos spectacular events. Among these videos was in particular that of Chris Johnson, a resident of the town of Fort Gratiot, in the Michigan. Lasting 27 seconds, its video clearly showed the burning satellite crossing the sky.
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An impressive event, but not as rare as before
Nowadays, the fireball formation in the sky has become quite a phenomenon frequent. The reason is that after the numerous rocket launches carried out by the NASA for example (and more recently by SpaceX), countless debris spacecraft can now be found in space. However, it is not uncommon for some of this debris to fall, thus causing the appearance of these famous fireballs during their passage through the atmosphere.
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Note that before the case of satellite russe Kosmos-2551, more precisely last March, a fireball had already crossed the sky of Seattle. It was actually the second stage of the rocket Falcon 9 de SpaceX. During its descent towards Earth, like Kosmos-2551, it had caught fire before being completely consumed.
Regarding the Russian satellite, Jonathan McDowell (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics astronomer) said in a tweet that his return to earth would likely cause no claims. McDowell had in fact estimated that his weight was only about 500 kg and that because of this, its debris could not reach the ground.
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I am a technology author with 8 years of experience in journalism. My writing covers the latest technology advancements and trends, drawing on my expertise in news journalism and social media platforms. I have contributed to major media outlets such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and Reuters.
