A spokesman for the Air Force confirmed to WDR that the debris had crashed but had most likely burned up before hitting the ground. Where the battery pack is EAT Exactly how it hit is still unclear.
The battery pack had previously flown over Germany on Friday evening. It was already considered very unlikely that debris could fall on the Federal Republic. The Federal Office for Civil Protection and Disaster Relief gave the all-clear again in the evening.
Since Thursday, reports of a discarded platform with battery packs have been causing a stir. It was launched from the International Space Station on March 21, 2021 EAT separated. The object was about the size of a car and weighed 2.6 tons. During re-entry into the atmosphere, large parts of the battery packs are likely to have burned up.
What does space debris mean for Germany and North Rhine-Westphalia?
Even if, according to experts, there was no immediate danger from the space debris, the debris could possibly spill over in the evening NRW to have been seen; including in Kleve, Wesel, Recklinghausen, Dortmund, Hamm, Soest, Paderborn and Höxter.
According to space expert Dirk Lorenzen, one would then have ““You can see “glowing dots” moving across the sky“There was no need to be afraid of being hit:”If you see the glow, the debris is still 1,000 kilometers away“, he told WDR.
Space debris could hit Earth.
WDR currently.
March 8, 2024.
Available until March 8, 2026.
WDR.
By Oliver Schöndube.
Why were the population in Germany warned?
Warning apps such as Katwarn or NINA, had sent messages on cell phones on Thursday. These reports were issued by the Federal Office for Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance (BKK) in Bonn. “There are three different warning levels. In this case, the people of Bonn warned with the lowest level – namely information about a possible danger“, says WDR-Reporter Jörg Sauerwein.
According to the authority, a sonic boom was possible if the battery parts raced over Germany. But later the BKK gave the all-clear.
Don’t worry about space junk.
WDR Studios NRW.
March 8, 2024.
00:59 Min..
Available until March 8, 2026.
WDR Online.
How much space debris is there in space?
50 years of space travel have left their mark: The ESA speaks of around 130 million pieces of scrap in space. These include discarded satellites, rocket parts and other remains. Gerald Braun from the German Aerospace Center (DLR) says that about 35 thousand objects orbit the Earth.
According to Dirk Lorenzen, it is completely normal that some of them keep falling in our direction: “Large pieces of space debris enter the atmosphere uncontrollably about five times a week“, he said. A New Zealand satellite and a Chinese rocket part are expected by Sunday alone.
There is so much junk in space Image source: ESA/dpa/WDR
Experts have been researching for some time how waste can be specifically towed away so that it enters the earth’s atmosphere and burns up sooner. For example, sails are installed in new satellites. When the satellites are no longer useful one day, these sails unfold and bring the satellites towards the atmosphere more quickly.
Uour sources:
- Conversation with an Air Force press spokesman
- Information from the dpa news agency
- Interview with Dirk Lorenzen
- ESA
- NASA
- Southgerman newspaper