US military satellite explodes in orbit after “catastrophic event”

A US Navy satellite has exploded while in orbit above the Earth after suffering a “catastrophic event”.

The 20-year-old Defense Meteorological Satellite Program Flight 13 (DMSP-F13) shattered into 43 pieces after a “sudden spike in temperature” caused an “unrecoverable loss of attitude control”

The incident occurred on 3 February, but was only revealed by the US Air Force on 27 February following questions from Space News.

The satellite provided real-time weather reports to the US military as part of a larger multi-satellite constellation. However, it had been retired to a backup role in 2006, so the loss is not expected to have a major impact on weather forecasting.

A new satellite is scheduled for a 2016 launch to join the other six DMSPs currently in orbit.

The Air Force said it is continuing to track the debris and will issue conjunction warnings if necessary.