ARLA/CLUSTER: Aumento do lixo espacial; velho satélite militar com 20 anos aparentemente explodiu em orbita

[João Costa > CT1FBF]

20-year-old military weather satellite apparently explodes in orbit

SpaceNews reports that a 20-year-old military weather satellite
apparently exploded in orbit February 3 following what the U.S. Air
Force described as a sudden temperature spike.

The 'catastrophic event' produced 43 pieces of space debris, according
to Air Force Space Command, which disclosed the loss of the satellite
Feb. 27 in response to questions from SpaceNews.

The satellite, Defense Meteorological Satellite Program Flight 13, was
the oldest continuously operational satellite in the DMSP weather
constellation.

Launched in 1995, DMSP-F13 provided thousands of hours of weather
imagery to Air Force and Navy forecasters before transitioning to a
backup role in 2006. The Air Force said its sudden loss would have
minimal impact

See more at: http://spacenews.com/20-year-old-military-weather-satellite-apparently-exploded-in-orbit/#sthash.Px0aQYQz.dpuf