[amsat-bb] Space Debris: Predicted near impact for AO-51

The Joint Space Operations Center at Vandenberg AFB has reported that AO-51 will have a ~200 meter (i.e. 2 football fields) approach to object #34890 at 08:51Z on April 13th.

Object #34890 (see http://www.n2yo.com/satellite/?s=34890 and http://celestrak.com/NORAD/elements/iridium-33-debris.txt) is one piece of the more than 500 pieces of debris left over after the Iridium-33 -- Kosmos-2251 collision on Feb. 10,2009 (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_satellite_collision). The total mass of the two spacecraft was about 1600 kg (well over one ton).

You can get an HD movie animation of the Iridium/Kosmos collision here (warning -- 50 MB ZIP file).

73, Tom