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The SC‑19 slammed into FY‑1C and made 150,000 pieces stay in orbit
A Chinese interceptor strikes a defunct weather satellite 865 km up - did they make it in time?
The SC‑19 slammed into FY‑1C and made 150,000 pieces stay in orbit
In this episode, we lay out the timeline and mechanics of a kinetic anti-satellite test that shattered a decades-old weather satellite and created the largest artificial debris field in history. How did a single intercept transform one payload into an enduring hazard for everything left in orbit?
Date: January 11, 2007
Event: Kinetic anti-satellite intercept
Person: Lieutenant General Michael Maples (named the SC-19)
Location: ~865…
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