WASHINGTON - The Jan. 11 Chinese anti-satellite (A-Sat) test now ranks as one of "the worst space debris events" in history, according to one expert on space debris, who pointed to the latest posting of orbital debris data by NORAD. That data shows an additional 484 pieces related to the deliberate kinetic destruction of the Chinese weather satellite FY-1C.

 

The Chinese A-Sat test generated a minimum of 517 pieces of orbital debris, according to a Jan. 29 e-mail to Space News from T.S. Kelso, who runs the CelesTrak Web site that  provides public data about orbital debris.

 

Much of the debris, Kelso said in a Monday update to the CelesTrac Web site, is in orbits that could eventually pose a threat to operating satellites. "Initial analysis shows pieces in the debris cloud ranging from 200 kilometers in altitude up to 3,500 kilometers," which poses a threat to many operational satellites, wrote Kelso, who was the first director of Air Force Space Command's Space Analysis Center (ASAC) at Peterson Air Force Base, Colo.

 

More data about the Chinese A-Sat test can be found at: http://celestrak.com/events/asat.asp.