A NASA decommissioned satellite has apparently collided with an unknown object on November 10th, causing at least four large pieces to break off.
The bus-sized Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS), was launched in 1991 to study the chemistry of the atmosphere.
UARS orbits at an altitude of 375 miles with an orbital inclination of 57 degrees.

IMAGE (http://img89.imageshack.us/img89/5541/uarswf3.jpg) (66kb, 30 x 390)

TLE Data

UARS
1 21701U 91063B 07356.91371375 +.00005060 +00000-0 +83701-4 0 02770
2 21701 056.9732 213.9053 0087902 193.1765 166.6997 15.49969207894991

UARS DEB (Decayed 2007-11-27)
1 32291U 91063C 07327.34971305 .20369066 10784-4 10650-1 0 122
2 32291 056.9431 340.2464 0034505 112.2617 248.0058 16.18012563 1390

UARS DEB (Decayed 2007-11-27)
1 32292U 91063D 07330.38806917 .03956573 17607-1 11630-1 0 210
2 32292 056.9969 327.7936 0047235 120.5091 235.6357 15.93199237 2158

UARS3 DEB
1 32297U 91063E 07356.84327244 +.00036971 +00000-0 +13749-2 0 00417
2 32297 056.9485 221.7671 0094253 293.5836 065.4186 15.23129340006003

UARS DEB
1 32298U 91063F 07356.76619740 +.00051961 +00000-0 +20573-2 0 00435
2 32298 056.9838 223.4603 0113128 307.4099 051.5175 15.19247708006085

Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS) is an orbital observatory whose mission is to study the Earth’s atmosphere, particularly the protective ozone layer.
The 5900 kg satellite was launched during Space Shuttle mission STS-48 in 1991. The original mission life was to be three years.

Read more (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Upper_Atmosphere_Research_Satellite)

Whoever manufactured it probably manufactured the F-15 fighterjets. :mad:

There's a lot of space junk up there. And quite a lot of micrometeorites.

A NASA decommissioned satellite has apparently collided with an unknown object on November 10th, causing at least four large pieces to break off.
The bus-sized Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS), was launched in 1991 to study the chemistry of the atmosphere.
UARS orbits at an altitude of 375 miles with an orbital inclination of 57 degrees.

IMAGE (http://img89.imageshack.us/img89/5541/uarswf3.jpg) (66kb, 30 x 390)

TLE Data

UARS
1 21701U 91063B 07356.91371375 +.00005060 +00000-0 +83701-4 0 02770
2 21701 056.9732 213.9053 0087902 193.1765 166.6997 15.49969207894991

UARS DEB (Decayed 2007-11-27)
1 32291U 91063C 07327.34971305 .20369066 10784-4 10650-1 0 122
2 32291 056.9431 340.2464 0034505 112.2617 248.0058 16.18012563 1390

UARS DEB (Decayed 2007-11-27)
1 32292U 91063D 07330.38806917 .03956573 17607-1 11630-1 0 210
2 32292 056.9969 327.7936 0047235 120.5091 235.6357 15.93199237 2158

UARS3 DEB
1 32297U 91063E 07356.84327244 +.00036971 +00000-0 +13749-2 0 00417
2 32297 056.9485 221.7671 0094253 293.5836 065.4186 15.23129340006003

UARS DEB
1 32298U 91063F 07356.76619740 +.00051961 +00000-0 +20573-2 0 00435
2 32298 056.9838 223.4603 0113128 307.4099 051.5175 15.19247708006085



Read more (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Upper_Atmosphere_Research_Satellite)

Have they ruled out that it didn't collide with a chubby fellow dressed in red and white riding in a sleigh? After all, he's only up there once a year and this is about the right time for pre-flight tests. :D

375 miles is quite low for most things orbiting the Earth. If it was debris, it would have probably been on the way to burn up. I doubt if it would have been a UFO (as in alien spacecraft) as their advanced technology would prevent such a collision.

There's a lot of space junk up there. And quite a lot of micrometeorites.

Hum,
yeah,
but intriguingly the "the breaks are potentially the result of natural decay or a self-contained structural problem"....

Source (http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/Top_News/2007/12/24/unidentified_flying_object_hit_satellite/5096/)