Â鶹ӰÊÓ

Skip to main content

Debris from Russian missile test nearly strikes a Chinese satellite

A woman wearing a face mask is silhouetted as she walks by a TV screen showing a live telecast of the Long March-2F Y12 rocket launch in China on Thursday, June 17, 2021. (AP Photo/Andy Wong) A woman wearing a face mask is silhouetted as she walks by a TV screen showing a live telecast of the Long March-2F Y12 rocket launch in China on Thursday, June 17, 2021. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
Share

A piece of debris created by Russia's recent anti-satellite test came within striking distance of a Chinese satellite Tuesday, in an encounter the Chinese government has called "extremely dangerous."

The Russian debris came as close as 14.5 meters (approximately 48 feet) from the satellite, according to the Space Debris Monitoring and Application Center of the China National Space Administration.

If a collision did occur, it could've caused a "hypersonic shockwave," said Jonathan McDowell of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, who explained "it came close enough that it easily could have hit."

"A piece big enough to be tracked like this, it hits at 12,000 miles per hour, and you get a hypersonic shockwave going through the satellite that reduces it to shrapnel, to confetti," he said.

McDowell however, describes China's assertion the two objects came within such a specific distance as "nonsense because there's no way they can know it that accurately."

Based on publicly available U.S. space tracking data, McDowell says the two objects could have come within anywhere from a few hundred yards to a few inches of colliding.

"The fact that it's still there means it didn't hit, but that's the only way you know that," McDowell said.

Russia destroyed one of its own satellites last November in a direct-ascent anti-satellite missile test which has been condemned by U.S. President Joe Biden's administration as dangerous and irresponsible.

At the time, U.S. Space Command said the test generated "more than 1,500 pieces of trackable orbital debris and will likely generate hundreds of thousands of pieces of smaller orbital debris."

CTVNews.ca Top Stories

The British Columbia election campaign is set to officially start today, with Lt.-Gov. Janet Austin issuing the writ for the Oct. 19 vote.

A northern Ontario man is facing a $12,000 fine after illegally shooting a moose near the Batchawan River.

Unusual flippered feet are making their way into the Saint Lawrence River this weekend. Led by underwater explorer and filmmaker Nathalie Lasselin, volunteer divers are combing the riverbed near Beauharnois in Montérégie to remove hundreds of tires that have been polluting the aquatic environment for decades.

A sea lion swam free after a rescue team disentangled it near Vancouver Island earlier this week.

Local Spotlight

Cole Haas is more than just an avid fan of the F.W. Johnson Wildcats football team. He's a fixture on the sidelines, a source of encouragement, and a beloved member of the team.

Getting a photograph of a rainbow? Common. Getting a photo of a lightning strike? Rare. Getting a photo of both at the same time? Extremely rare, but it happened to a Manitoba photographer this week.

An anonymous business owner paid off the mortgage for a New Brunswick not-for-profit.

They say a dog is a man’s best friend. In the case of Darren Cropper, from Bonfield, Ont., his three-year-old Siberian husky and golden retriever mix named Bear literally saved his life.

A growing group of brides and wedding photographers from across the province say they have been taken for tens of thousands of dollars by a Barrie, Ont. wedding photographer.

Paleontologists from the Royal B.C. Museum have uncovered "a trove of extraordinary fossils" high in the mountains of northern B.C., the museum announced Thursday.

The search for a missing ancient 28-year-old chocolate donkey ended with a tragic discovery Wednesday.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police is celebrating an important milestone in the organization's history: 50 years since the first women joined the force.

It's been a whirlwind of joyful events for a northern Ontario couple who just welcomed a baby into their family and won the $70 million Lotto Max jackpot last month.