Homes Shake, Windows Rattle As Satellite Debris Crashes To Earth

jimmy40

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WACO (February 15,2009)—-Debris from two communications satellites that collided in space last week fell to Earth Sunday morning in Central Texas, producing what one witness described as “a horrific explosion” that

The Federal Aviation Administration told News 10 an advisory came out Saturday advising that debris could fall to Earth.

Reports indicate that’s what happened Sunday from New Mexico to Houston.

Law enforcement agencies are being advised to contain the debris so it can be tested to confirm it came from the satellites.

Some residents saw the falling debris Sunday morning.

Jetta Hicks was driving on FM 1624 west of Calvert when she said she saw something burning in the sky, falling at a 45-degree angle.

She said it had a tail and appeared to be flaming.

She said she didn’t see anything hit the ground.

A resident of the Hubbard area reported seeking smoke high in the air at the time of the explosion.

Authorities were checking on reports of debris in the Leroy area early Sunday afternoon.

Firefighters and law enforcement officers started searching for the source of the explosion after residents began to report it just after 11 a.m. Sunday.

The most immediate concern was whether the debris had touched off any fires in the dry brush.

A law enforcement helicopter was used to survey the area from the air.

The pilot reported that he saw no evidence of fires.

The two communications satellites collided Tuesday in the first-ever crash of two intact spacecraft in orbit.

The collision occurred Tuesday nearly 500 miles over Siberia, producing a pair of massive debris clouds, according to NASA.

The collision involved an Iridium commercial satellite, which was launched in 1997, and a Russian satellite launched in 1993 and believed to be non-functioning.

Each satellite weighed more than 1, 000 pounds, officials said.





My wife and kids saw this on their way home from church here in Bryan.
 

vta

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Wouldn't want you to get hit...

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(CNN) -- Sonic booms and at least one fireball in the sky were reported in Texas on Sunday, less than a week after two satellites collided in space and a day after the Federal Aviation Administration asked U.S. pilots to watch for "falling space debris," authorities said.


Video captured in Austin, Texas, shows a meteor-like object in the sky Sunday morning.

There were no reports of ground strikes or interference with aircraft in flight, FAA spokesman Roland Herwig said.

Herwig told CNN the FAA received no reports from pilots in the air of any sightings but the agency recieved "numerous" calls from people on the ground from Dallas, Texas, south to Austin, Texas.

Video shot by a photographer from News 8 TV in Austin showed what appeared to be a meteor-like white fireball blazing across a clear blue sky Sunday morning. The photographer caught the incident while covering a marathon in Austin.

On Saturday, the FAA told pilots through its routine notification system that "a potential hazard may occur due to re-entry of satellite debris into the earth's atmosphere." The notice did not specify a time or location. Watch video of meteor-like fireball »

Herwig said most of the reports the FAA received came in about midday Sunday in an area of Texas from Dallas south to Austin.

He said he was not certain where the information that sparked the FAA notification came from, but it was "probably from NORAD," or the North American Aerospace Defense Command, which tracks man-made objects in space. Calls to NORAD headquarters in Colorado were not immediately returned.

Lisa Block, spokeswoman for the Texas Department of Public Safety, said her agency had received calls from residents surprised by sonic booms about 11 a.m. She said calls came from an area from Dallas to Houston.



Last week, the Russian and U.S. space agencies said two satellites, one Russian and one American, collided about 496 miles (800 kilometers) above Siberia, Russia.

The collision on Tuesday produced two large debris clouds, NASA said. The satellites collided at 6.2 miles (10 kilometers) per second, producing 500 to 600 pieces of space debris, the U.S. Strategic Command said.
 

CowboyWay

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I bet the UFO conspiricists are loving this.

"That wasn't a satellite"...........
 

banthamobile

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Thanks for the info. Where was your family exactly when they saw the object? And what direction was the object falling and at what angle? We are still trying to triangulate its position to find the meteor landing site. Any eyewitness info you have would be much appreciated.

Thanks,
Craig
 
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