And the number one debris producing explosion in space is ... Fengyun 1C!
As of this morning there are 856 pieces associated with the ASAT test conducted last month by the Chinese. Debris catalogued since the test ranges from Intl designator 1999-025E/SSC #29716 to 1999-025ALV/30579.
Here are the top space explosion debris events:
Rank / SSN / Int Designator / Pieces
4 / 27721 / 1965-082UT / 474
3 / 27596 / 1986-019VN / 493
2 / 29036 / 1994-029AET / 714
1 / 30579 / 1999-025ALV / 856
What a mess the Chinese have made in polar orbit. Of course, this story quickly made a news cycle of two and the public and our government have moved on after a small fuss up. Basically they have let the Cinese off the hook again. But this is a hit that keeps on hitting (or potentially will at some point).
