Fireball Seen Over Western US Likely Chinese Rocket Debris
A fireball was seen streaking across the skies above the western U.S. on Monday, leaving some wondering what it was. According to NASA’s Orbital Debris Program Office, the firey object was part of a Chinese rocket that was used to launch a satellite into space.
At least 198 reports of the fireball were submitted to the American Meteor Society from states such as Washington, Montana, Idaho, Nevada and Utah. Several videos were also uploaded to YouTube, many of which identified the streak as a fireball and meteor. But NASA officials identified the object as a rocket body used to launch the Yaogan Weixing-26, a Chinese satellite launched in December 2014, according to KSL.
(c) Provided by IBT US Meteor Debris
“I’m virtually certain based on the many calls and emails and all that, it was a piece of re-entering space junk,” Patrick Wiggins, NASA ambassador told KSL.
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