The satellite exploded on February 3, and its demise was ironically not reported by the Air Force at all. The satellite’s absence was brought to light by the operator of a private site called CelesTrak, a few weeks after the event on February 26. The Air Force later confirmed that DMSP-13 had indeed exploded in orbit.
The satellite was the thirteenth in a series from the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP), and was launched in 1995, topping 100,000 orbits before its demise. Designed to provide weather and atmospheric data in combat zones, DMSP-13 had provided the military with information during Operation Allied Force, Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom.
A statement from the Air Force said that the satellite had essentially died of old age. “A catastrophic event associated with a power system failure,” to be specific. Though 20 years old, the satellite is still quite young when we consider that the oldest currently orbiting satellite is 57.
On February 3, flight control noticed a sudden spike in the satellite’s power systems and all non-essential systems were immediately shut off. The spacecraft however lost its position control. At around the same time, the U.S. Joint Space Operations Center (USJSOC) at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California noticed a field of debris near the satellite. The Air Force is currently conducting investigations.
“While the initial response is complete, personnel will continue to assess this event to learn more about what happened,” Air Force Colonel John Giles, the center’s director, said in the statement.
The satellite was one of some 3700 orbiting the Earth right now, and its remains, 43 pieces of space debris, now join an estimated 20,000 pieces larger than a softball, orbiting the Earth at 17,500 mph. The USJSOC attempts to track and record all these man-made objects through the Space Surveillance Network. According to the US Strategic Command, the network tracks over 16,000 objects, 5 percent of which are functioning payloads or satellites, 8 percent rocket bodies, and 87 percent space debris and inactive satellites.
