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Asteroid Hunters Say They Spotted Secret Spy Satellite
By SPACE.com Staff
posted: 09:00 am ET
08 April 2002
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Headline: Asteroid Hunters Say They Spotted Secret Spy Satellite
A Japanese telescope designed to find asteroids that might threaten Earth apparently detected a previously unknown and unregistered satellite circling Earth, according to the online version of the Mainichi Daily News in Japan.
The unidentified object was spotted last December by the Japan Spaceguard Association's observation center in Bisei, Okayama Prefecture. Since then, Spaceguard officials looked for but could not find the object on a list of satellites kept by the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD). Aerospace engineering specialist Nobuo Nakatomi said the object was probably a spy satellite. "It is a common practice around the world to secretly launch satellites for technical or military reasons, and they won't make entry on the NORAD list," Nakatomi said in the Daily News. "Judging from the information available, it looks like the object is a U.S. or Chinese spy satellite." Spaceguard officials were said to be delighted by their telescope's ability. "We will keep watching space to spot asteroids or man-made objects that can be a threat to Earth," said Shuzo Isobe, director Spaceguard in Japan. Spaceguard is a name used in several countries to denote the search for potentially threatening asteroids. More Asteroid News | Astronomy News Briefs
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