A secretive Russian satellite broke apart in Earth's orbit, the US Space Force said on Monday.
The satellite's possible explosion-induced debris field could last a century, according to NASA.
A mysterious Russian satellite with a shady mission has broken apart in Earth's orbit, creating a hazardous cloud of debris zipping around the planet and menacing other satellites, US Space Force announced.
The 18th Space Defense Squadron said on Twitter Monday that it had confirmed a satellite called Kosmos 2499 had broken apart into 85 pieces.
Previous collisions and satellite break-ups have created far larger and more hazardous debris fields than this.
For nearly half a year, this mystery satellite trailed its rocket stage and maneuvered up close to it repeatedly.
The company tweeted that its early data "points toward a low intensity explosion," likely from the satellite's propulsion system. »