SATELLITE COLLISION

[OLIVIER F6DGU]

73 good mornig all I please let you know that CHINA NEWS inform

QUOTE
BEIJING, Feb. 12 (Xinhua) -- The debris left by a satellite collision
above Siberia, Russia, poses a threat to China's solar synchronous
satellites on the orbit, Chinese scientists told Xinhua reporters on
Thursday.
Two telecommunications satellites, launched by the U.S. and Russia
respectively, collided on Thursday, at 0:55:59, in an orbital area
788.57 kilometers away from the Earth, at 97.88 east longitude and
72.50 latitude, according to Zhao Changyin, a researcher with the
Purple Mountain Astronomical Observatory, in Nanjing City.
A monitoring network under the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS)
is now closely watching and searching for the debris of the damaged
satellites for the safety of Chinese satellites, said Zhao. But he
insisted that such in-space collisions are rare.
The American satellite, which was projected on Sept. 14, 1997, was
operational until it was destroyed in the collision. The Russian
satellite, launched on June 16, 1993 has ceased operation.
The American satellite, 560 kilograms in weight, was moving
780kilometers above the Earth with an obliquity of 86 degrees. The
Russian satellite weighed one ton, and was orbiting 790 kilometers
above the Earth with an obliquity of 74 degrees, according to the
Nanjing observatory.
The debris, which is spreading in space where the collision
occurred, is forming a nebulous that may disperse gradually in the
future, said Du Heng, a space debris expert with the CAS who is a
researcher with the Space Science and Application Research Center.
The debris cloud may affect solar synchronous satellites moving in an
orbital area of 700-900 kilometers above the Earth, including China's
Fengyun-1 meteorological satellite and Ziyuan-1 observatory satellite,
according to the expert.
"We can calculate whether our in-use satellites will be collided or
not once the data of the debris cloud is published," Du said, noting
it will help China readjust the operating gesture of its satellites on
the orbit.
Thursday's satellite collision occurred with a relative speed of 11.6
kilometers per second, according to Zhao. Similar collisions have
occurred in the past, he said.
On July 24, 1996, a French spy satellite ran into the remains of an
Ariane V16 rocket carrier. On Jan. 17, the debris of a Chinese-made
Long March-4 rocket collided with the remains of an American rocket.
UNQUOTE
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O. MARSAN F6DGU
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