Defunct US weather satellite breaks up in Earth orbit

A U.S. weather satellite that retired eight years ago has fallen apart in orbit, breaking into at least 16 pieces of space junk, according to government representatives. The satellite, dubbed NOAA-17 after the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration that operated it, launched in 2002 and was decommissioned in 2013 after its instruments began to fail. NOAA-17 broke up on March 10, according to the Space Force's 18th Space Control Squadron based in California, as was first reported by SpaceNews. More

(Source: Space.com - Mar 24)