NASA’s RHESSI spacecraft. While there are posts on social media identifying a bolide in Kiev as the spacecraft, satellite tracking website Satflare has indicated that the spacecraft has crashed into Chad in North Africa. NASA had calculated a one in 2,467 of the satellite crash harming someone on the planet. These can be active thrusters, or even solar dragsails that use natural sunlight to increase the drag on the satellites. A number of de-orbital technologies with various strategies are being tested by space agencies and private companies around the world.

Source: The North Africa Journal April 20, 2023 09:18 UTC