Low-intensity explosion caused Russian satellite to spew debris – SpaceNews(spacenews.com)
spacenews.com
Low-intensity explosion caused Russian satellite to spew debris – SpaceNews
https://spacenews.com/low-intensity-explosion-caused-russian-satellite-to-spew-debris/
10 comments
They say no other debris caused an impact. Is it common that decommissioned satellite explode?
Could a laser be a possibility?
Could a laser be a possibility?
Most satellites have propulsion systems - both to tweak their orbits, and to help adjust their orientation in space. "Decommissioned" does not mean that all the pressurized tanks for those propulsion system are empty, nor de-pressurized. And as any aerospace materials engineer knows, things degrade over time...
BTW - the chemicals in those propulsion tanks are often quite nasty, and prone to "energetic" reactions.
BTW - the chemicals in those propulsion tanks are often quite nasty, and prone to "energetic" reactions.
Is it common that a satellite explodes? Yes. Dozens of satellites have exploded. For example, the Russian Kosmos series has a history of battery leaks.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Spacecraft_that_broke...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Spacecraft_that_broke...
Remembering the 1980s, Eastern Bloc consumer-grade batteries were bad enough to destroy appliances. Soviet batteries in particular; it was a known rule that if you can find a GDR or Czechoslovak-made battery for your radio etc., you just don't risk a "Sdelano v CCCP" one.
If Soviet space engineering suffered from the same problem, which is likely (already Korolev fought a massive and angry battle against badly manufactured satellite parts), there is quite a lot of batteries aging dangerously up there.
If Soviet space engineering suffered from the same problem, which is likely (already Korolev fought a massive and angry battle against badly manufactured satellite parts), there is quite a lot of batteries aging dangerously up there.
Same for western batteries of the 80s-early 90s. In the retro Mac community the Maxell lithium batteries are referred to as “Maxell bombs” since they have a failure mode where spray acid all over the inside of the machine, not just leaking on the motherboard
But IANAAE (Aerospace Engineer). Just like "rapid unscheduled disassembly", "fell apart" may be AE lingo.