The destruction of a satellite in orbit took video
The company ExoAnalytic Solutions, monitoring devices in near-earth space, found that telecommunications satellite AMC-9, owned by the Luxembourg operator SES S. A. has collapsed at least three parts.
Video is available on the website Ars Technica.
Control over the AMC-9 was lost on 17 June, but on 1 July, the connection has been restored. The reasons why the device fell apart in orbit, are still not clear.
In geostationary orbit AMC-9 was launched in 2003 with the help of Russian carrier rocket “proton-M”. The lifetime of the device is estimated at 15 years. Experts believe that the cause of the destruction of the satellite could be a collision with space debris.