Scientists Keep An Eye On The Debris After Satellite Collision
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Scientists Keep An Eye On The Debris After Satellite Collision
Scientists were keeping an eye on some orbiting debris Thursday after a collision in space between two satellites.
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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (February 12, 2009)--Scientists Thursday were keeping an eye on some orbiting space debris that was created when two communications satellites smashed into each other hundreds of miles above the Earth.

The collision between the American and Russian satellites occurred nearly 500 miles over Siberia on Tuesday.

NASA said it was the first high-speed impact between two intact spacecraft.

NASA believes there's little risk to the international space station, which orbits about 270 miles below the collision course, but the space agency says it will take weeks to determine the full scope of the crash and whether any other satellites, or even the Hubble Space Telescope, are threatened.

The Maryland-based Iridium company, meanwhile, denies responsibility for the collision, and a Russian space expert wonders why U.S. satellite experts didn't prevent the crash by adjusting the working satellite's orbit.

He speculates that was because of "computer failure or a human error."

NASA says it will take weeks to know the full magnitude of the collision, but both U.S. and Russian authorities say there's little risk to the international space station and its crew.

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