A robust flash within the sky over the Ukrainian capital on Wednesday that triggered an air raid alert.
Kyiv:
A robust flash within the sky over the Ukrainian capital on Wednesday that triggered an air raid alert was brought on by a NASA satellite tv for pc reentering the environment, metropolis authorities stated.
“In keeping with preliminary info, this phenomenon was the results of a NASA house satellite tv for pc falling to Earth,” the top of Kyiv’s army administration Sergiy Popko stated on Telegram.
The US house company had introduced earlier this week {that a} retired 660-pound (300-kilogram) satellite tv for pc would reenter the environment a while on Wednesday.
The RHESSI spacecraft, used to look at photo voltaic flares, was launched into low Earth orbit in 2002 and decommissioned in 2018, NASA stated.
Popko stated a “vibrant glow” was noticed within the sky over Kyiv round 10:00 pm (1900 GMT).
An air raid alert was activated, Popko stated, however “air defence was not in operation.”
Shortly after, the Ukrainian Air Power additionally stated the flash was “associated to the autumn of a satellite tv for pc/meteorite.”
One thing occurred in Kyiv sky tonight. The entire metropolis is at a loss, what it was. UFO? pic.twitter.com/DAic7QHae2
— olexander scherba🇺🇦 (@olex_scherba) April 19, 2023
Hypothesis and memes abounded on Ukrainian social media after a number of channels posted movies displaying a robust flash lighting up the sky over Kyiv.
“Whereas social media is amused by flying saucer memes… please don’t use the official image of the Air Power to create memes!” the Air Power stated.
In an announcement on Monday, NASA stated it anticipated a lot of the Reuven Ramaty Excessive Vitality Photo voltaic Spectroscopic Imager spacecraft to dissipate because it enters the environment.
“However some elements are anticipated to outlive reentry,” NASA stated, including that the danger of hurt to anybody on Earth was low — roughly one in 2,467.
(Apart from the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV employees and is printed from a syndicated feed.)
