At the end of the Cold War, the U.S. military's "USA 32" satellite suddenly shattered in low-Earth orbit. The U.S. military investigated the cause.

A schematic diagram showing the large amount of debris produced after the disintegration of a low-Earth orbit satellite; the US military recently confirmed that the "USA 32" satellite launched at the end of the Cold War suddenly fragmented in orbit, and the cause of the disintegration is still under investigation.

"USA 32", a satellite launched in 1988 and considered by many media to be an American spy satellite at the end of the Cold War, suddenly shattered in low-Earth orbit on September 13. The U.S. Space Force confirmed that it is still analyzing the cause of the disintegration and cannot yet determine why the satellite disintegrated.

The US "Newsweek" reported on the 3rd that the U.S. Space Forces-Space (S4S), USA 32, broke apart in low Earth orbit at 9:13 pm GMT on September 13. The spokesman said that the cause of the disintegration is completely unknown at present, and relevant investigation and analysis are still ongoing.

According to public aerospace tracking data, USA 32, also known as "NORAD 19460," was launched in 1988 by the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) under the U.S. Department of Defense. Many media reports pointed out that it was a spy satellite at the end of the Cold War. Swiss space tracking company s2a systems subsequently released a video on social platforms, claiming that the footage showed a large amount of debris produced by the satellite, but Newsweek stated that it could not independently verify the image. The US military stated that it has not found that USA 32 poses an immediate threat.

Space junk increases collision risk

It is not uncommon for retired satellites to disintegrate in orbit, but the resulting debris can form space junk and pose potential risks to active space facilities. The International Space Station (ISS) and the Starlink satellite network owned by billionaire Musk both operate in low Earth orbit. In June 2024, an abandoned Russian satellite disintegrated in orbit, and the debris forced astronauts on the International Space Station to evacuate for about an hour. According to statistics from the United States Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), as of 2022, the total amount of space debris in Earth orbit has exceeded 9,000 metric tons.

The European Space Agency (ESA) has warned that low-Earth orbit is facing an increasingly crowded environment. With the large-scale deployment of new satellites, some old satellites fail to leave orbit in time after their lifespan, increasing the risk of collisions. Currently, on average, at least three complete pieces of satellite or rocket debris reenter the atmosphere every day.