Two satellites collide

**tristen** · 12-02-09, 01:56 PM

Info available at

Iridium Issues Short Statement On Satellite Collision
WASHINGTON, Feb 11, 2009 (AFP) - Two satellites collided in space hundreds of miles (kilometers) above Earth, destroying an Iridium commercial satellite in a crash that may result in disruption of service, the US company said Wednesday. The Bethesda, Maryland-based company said it "lost an operational satellite" after it was struck Tuesday by a spent Russian satellite, in what is being considered one of the first major collisions of its kind in space. "While this is an extremely unusual, very low-probability event, the Iridium constellation is uniquely designed to withstand such an event, and the company is taking the necessary steps to replace the lost satellite with one of its in-orbit spare satellites," the company said in a statement. The privately-held Iridium Satellite, which says its network comprises 66 communication satellites plus in-orbit spares, stressed the accident was not the result of a failure of technology on the company's fault. "This satellite loss may result in very limited service disruption in the form of brief, occasional outages," it said, adding that the company expects to implement a network solution by Friday.

**ol' boy** · 12-02-09, 02:21 PM

Clearly they don't give way to the right in orbit

**beer4life** · 12-02-09, 04:18 PM

Originally Posted by oceanboy

Clearly they don't give way to the right in orbit

Nah, They don't know the difference between Port and Starboard.
Too many Vodkas!

**ericdog** · 12-02-09, 04:31 PM

Now, thats where the Vivox satellite went...... No wonder he is having trouble getting his service running

**trash** · 12-02-09, 07:29 PM

As we say in hang gliding, nobody has right of way.
If you have a dispute about who had right of way, you can debate it on your way to the ground.

**MrElectricity** · 13-02-09, 03:54 AM

2 big birds go

In the old day it would have been war!

**Learjet** · 13-02-09, 07:05 AM

Holy smoke, closing velocity was 7 miles per second. Try ducking that!

**biggeorge** · 13-02-09, 07:44 AM

And I bet the Russians didn't even stop and give their insurance details.

**gordon_s1942** · 13-02-09, 01:29 PM

Well, that should be the end of all the 'Alien Invasion' fears , 'Flying Saucers' sightings etc as no Extra Terrestial would risk trying to penetrate through this layer of garbage happily orbiting up there.

It goes to prove the simplest solutions are often the best.