Chinese missile test debris collided with Russian satellite Researcher

A piece of space debris left over from a 2007 Chinese missile test collided with a Russian satellite earlier this year, rendering the satellite unusable, a researcher has said.

According to T.S. Kelso, a senior research astrodynamicist at the Center for Space Standards and Innovation, the collision appears to have happened January 22.

The collision changed the orientation and orbit of the Russian satellite, which was being used in scientific experiments, Kelso said.

According to CNN, the researcher said that it may have also damaged it.

Kelso said that it was February 4 when two scientists with the Institute for Precision Instrument Engineering in Moscow noticed a change in the orbit of the satellite, known as BLITS.

They contacted Kelso because CSSI operates a service that looks for close satellite approaches, he said.

According to the report, CSSI is now working with the Russian scientists to find out more about the collision. (ANI)