The night sky over the southeastern United States lit up an unusual object with a tail. Scientists believe that the so-burned piece of Soviet missiles, launched in 1973 with the intelligence objectives.
Residents of the southeastern part of the United States can see how burned up in the atmosphere of the Soviet rocket “Molnia-M”, which was launched into orbit 2 November 1973. A bright line in the sky recorded hundreds of observers in Georgia, Alabama, North and South Carolina, and Tennessee.
Network are full of reports about the unusual phenomenon that took some of the fireball, the other – of meteorite or comet. However, the low speed of the object and the characteristic fragmentation suggests that it is the descent from orbit spacecraft, reports portal Spaceflight101. Analysis of the data showed that the “shooting star” very likely become the top Soviet rocket upper stage.
At the moment of perigee passage he gradually braked on the upper layers of the atmosphere until the fourth stage of the rocket did not become final approach to Earth. According to the US Strategic Command, the lead surveillance of all major space debris, the Soviet entry into the atmosphere of the upper stage was to take place a little earlier. However, the unit stayed in orbit longer, and entered the dense layers, burning, approximately 1:30 am Eastern Time US.
Usually, satellites and debris enter the atmosphere at an altitude of 100-120 km, the intense heat of friction air molecules. The destruction of the overload up to 20 g, usually occurs at an altitude of about 80 km, in this case the object is divided into at least four pieces.
Only the American Meteor Society received more than 130 reports of sightings of unusual “car”, most people could see an object that is slowly falling apart, forming a bright tail, up to one minute. A resident of the town of Mountain Home Fish Caleb went for lunch and saw an unusual trace in the sky. “At first I thought it was a plane because the airport nearby Mountain Home. But it was faster and shine brighter than a plane, and I thought it was a meteor, “- said Fish the local TV people.
« Molniya-M “into orbit satellite” Cosmos-606 “, which was part of the warning system missile attack. In April 1974, the mission of the spacecraft was over, and he was put into a higher orbit. However, the upper stage weighing 1.16 tons, was in the same place, and was continuing to revolve around the Earth in an elongated orbit.
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