COSPAR ID 1997-051C Contractor ILS Regime Low Earth Manufacturer Iridium Communications Bus LM-700 Operator Iridium Communications | Rocket Proton-K/DM2 Reference system Geocentric Launch date 14 September 1997 Launch site Baikonur Cosmodrome Mission type Communications satellite | |
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Destroyed 10 February 2009, 16:56 (2009-02-10UTC16:57Z) UTC
Collision with Kosmos 2251 Similar Kosmos 2251, Strela, Cerise, Progress M‑34, Zarya | ||
Iridium 33 and cosmos 2251 collision
Iridium 33 was a communications satellite launched by the United States for Iridium Communications. It was launched into low Earth orbit from Site 81/23 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome at 01:36 GMT on 14 September 1997, by a Proton-K carrier rocket with a Block DM2 upper stage. It was operated in Plane 3 of the Iridium satellite constellation, with an ascending node of 230.9°.
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Iridium 33 and cosmos 2251 satellite collision
Destruction
On 10 February 2009, at 16:56 GMT, Kosmos 2251 (a retired Strela satellite) and Iridium 33 collided, resulting in the destruction of both spacecraft. NASA reported that a large amount of space debris was produced by the collision.
References
Iridium 33 Wikipedia(Text) CC BY-SA