Two defunct satellites expected to come within a few feet apart and possibly collide instead sped past each other in opposite orbits Wednesday. Experts initially warned the satellites, an Infrared Astronomical Satellite (IRAS) and the Gravity Gradient Stabilization Experiment (GGSE-4), could collide and send debris through space at remarkable speeds. Had they hit each other, it could have created thousands of pieces of debris, with some 1,000 pieces possibly measuring more than 10 centimeters, astrodynamicist Dan Oltrogge told the news outlet. LeoLabs, a satellite-tracking company, tracked the paths of both satellites and said it had not found evidence of new debris. The last collision of large satellites in space occurred in 2009 when a commercial U.S. Iridium spacecraft hit a defunct Russian satellite over Siberia, the BBC reported.

Source: Fox News January 30, 2020 03:22 UTC