The collision between a U.S. commercial satellite and a Russian retired satellite earlier this week has raised a lot of questions on the probability of recurrence of such an incident, as well as on the safety of other satellites.

 

The Iridium satellite was part of a vast constellation, the largest of its kind in the world, which comprised 66 satellites plus in-orbit spares. The company said the destroyed satellite will be replaced by a spare one within the next 30 days.

 

While Russian and United State officials are throwing the blame, the remaining satellites are at risk of encountering the cloud of debris created by the collision, which has added up to the thousands of pieces of debris already in space.

 

Russian officials have blamed Iridium and NASA for not adjusting the course of their satellite in order to prevent a collision, since the Russian satellite was not operational anymore.

 

It could have been a computer failure or a human error, the Associated Press quoted Igor Lisov, Russian space expert, as saying. It also could be that they only were paying attention to smaller debris and ignoring the defunct satellites.

 

He also said the remaining 65 satellites belonging to Iridium, as well as other earth-tracking and weather satellites, are in serious risk of collision. Fragments may trigger a chain of collisions, he told the same source.

 

The United States officials are still investigating the incident; however, this is very likely to raise talks about additional funding in surveillance programs, especially since losing other satellites would cost even more.