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Space debris may be raining on Central Texas, authorities search by helicoper
UPDATE - 10:07 p.m.
The U.S. Strategic Command said there was no connection to the sightings over Texas and Tuesday’s collision of satellites from the U.S. and Russia.
“There is no correlation between the debris from that collision and those reports of re-entry,” said Maj. Regina Winchester, with STRATCOM.
UPDATE - 7:50 p.m.
The sky wasn’t falling and there wasn’t an earthquake. No rockets were tested in McGregor and the Space Shuttle is fine.
What many Central Texans reported feeling, hearing and seeing about 11 a.m. Sunday was likely falling debris from two communications satellites that collided in space last week, federal, state and local officials said.
Law enforcement dispatchers across Central Texas fielded calls from concerned residents who reported seeing fireballs in the sky and hearing sonic booms or explosions that rattled their windows.
No one reported to the McLennan County Sheriff’s Office finding debris that was believed to have come from Tuesday’s collision between an American and Russian satellite.
Sheriff’s office chief pilot Stu Royle flew a path from West, Leroy, Axtell, Riesel to Mart for about two hours after calls started coming in about the unusual occurrence, Chief Deputy Randy Plemons said. Royle saw nothing out of the ordinary, he said.
Officials said the high-speed collision, over Siberia in Russia, was the first such incident involvinh intact satellites.
The American satellite was an Iridium, one of a constellation of 66 communication spacecraft. Liz DeCastro, corporate communications director of Iridium Satellite, based in Bethesda, Md., said the satellite weighed about 1,200 pounds and that its body was more than 12 feet long, not including large solar arrays. The Russian communications satellite was presumed nonfunctional.
David Wright of the Union of Concerned Scientists’ Global Security said the collision probably generated tens of thousands of pieces larger than a half-inch. He said those could damage or destroy other satellites. Officials did not say Sunday how many, if any larger pieces were expected to enter the atmosphere in coming days.
Plemons said law enforcement agencies began getting calls midday Sunday from West residents, then people from Leroy, Axtell, Riesel and Mart. A deputy who works in that part of the county did not find any such debris, he said.
Plemons warned anyone who finds what they think is satellite debris not to touch it and asked that they contact the sheriff’s office, which will send someone to secure it until the proper authorities can be notified.
Brian Vanicek, 49, reported he and his 14-year-old son saw what he described as a “fireball” at 10:58 a.m. Sunday while traveling northwest on Farm-to-Market Road 485 near the Bell-Milam county line. Vanicek said the streak of light was to the north, in the direction of Waco or beyond.
“We just happened to look in that direction, and at first it looked like a falling star, Vanicek said. “But then it flared and got really big, I guess that’s what some people might describe as a fireball.”
What appeared to be a vapor trail remained visible for about 10 minutes until they arrived home near Zabcikville, he said.
The National Weather Service, the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration all sent out warnings last week to pilots and others that reported explosions and resulting vibrations are actually sonic booms caused by the pieces of falling satellite debris.
A similar incident occurred Friday night around Jackson, Ky., with police inundated with calls about explosions, flashes of light and even earthquakes that officials said also appeared to be falling debris from the two satellites.
Officials from New Mexico to Houston reported calls about the falling debris Sunday morning.
The debris made many think of the break up of the Space Shuttle Columbia above Texas on Feb. 1, 2003, officials said. The shuttle debris field stretched from Across Texas to Louisiana.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
Original post from 2:52 p.m.
McLennan County residents who have reported hearing “explosions” today are likely instead hearing the fall of space debris, chief deputy Randy Plemons said.
Although the sheriff’s office has not found any of the debris, the FAA has said it is likely pieces of two satellites - one American, one Russian - that collided on Tuesday, Plemons said.
The American satellite was an Iridium, one of a constellation of 66 spacecraft. Liz DeCastro, corporate communications director of Iridium Satellite, based in Bethesda, Md., told the New York Times that the satellite weighed about 1,200 pounds and that its body was more than 12 feet long, not including large solar arrays. The Russian communications satellite was presumed nonfunctional.
Plemons said law enforcement agencies began getting calls from West residents, then people from Leroy, Axtell, Mart and Riesel. A deputy who works in that part of the county has not reported finding any such debris, he said.
Plemons said the sheriff’s office chief pilot Stu Royle flew the county’s helicopter searching for debris about two hours after reports started coming into the sheriff’s office.
He didn’t find anything while flying a path from West, Leroy, Axtell, Riesel and Mart, Plemons said.
If anyone finds what they think is satellite debris, Plemons asks that they don’t touch it and contact the sheriff’s office, which will send someone to secure it until the proper authorities can be notified.
If you’ve seen some debris, please call Trib reporter Tommy Witherspoon at 757-5737. And keep an eye on wacotrib.com for updates.
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On Tuesday, February 10, the American civilian communications satellite Iridium 33, launched in 1997, and the defunct Russian military communications satellite Kosmos-2251, launched in 1993, collided over Siberia. Five days after the collision, reports have surfaced that burning debris from the collision has been spotted over several U.S. cities from New Mexico to Kentucky.

Calls to 9-1-1 began to come in to Williamson County, Texas sheriff's office around 12:30 p.m. (CT) that burning debris and fireballs were seen falling from the sky onto parts of Austin, Houston, Waco and San Antonio. Residents reported their homes and windows shaking and large explosions. After a search of several areas, the Williamson county sheriff's office reported that no debris or impact sites were found. Earlier unconfirmed reports had said the debris could have been the result of a small plane exploding. 
Iridium satellite. 
Steve Thornton, a resident in Austin told KEYE-TV that he "saw something burn up in the atmosphere going east to west at 40 degrees in the horizon looking north" which was "about the size of a half moon and as bright as a welders torch".  Other residents reported to KEYE-TV that they saw an "egg-shape with an orange center and bluish outer aura; a silvery-white tail."  Some report the incident lasting about 10 minutes.

On February 13, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) issued an alert following reports of "explosions and earthquakes" along with "flashes in the sky" in Jackson and Louisville, Kentucky. There were no injures and authorities could not locate any damage.

"The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reported to local law enforcement on Friday that these events are being caused by falling satellite debris. These pieces of debris have been causing sonic booms, resulting in vibrations felt by some residents, as well as flashes of light across the sky," said the NOAA in a public information statement on February 13. The FAA also warns that the debris could cause damage to aircraft in areas reporting falling debris.

"Aircraft are advised that a potential hazard may occur due to reentry of satellite debris into the Earth's atmosphere. It is critical that all pilots/crew members report any observed falling space debris," said the FAA on February 13. Both the NOAA and FAA alerts are in place until further notice and cover an area from New Mexico to Kentucky.

However, Dr. Marco Ciocca, a professor at Eastern Kentucky University told WKYT in Kentucky it would "be months" before any of the satellite wreckage enters the Earth's atmosphere. "The debris doesn't simply fall out of its orbit. It will either vaporize or stay in orbit for some time before falling into Earth's atmosphere." 

The satellites, both of which weighed in excess of 1,000 pounds, and traveling at approximately 17,500 miles per hour, collided 491 miles above the Earth. Scientists say the explosion caused by the collision was massive. They are still trying to determine just how large the crash was and how the Earth will be affected. The United States Strategic Command of the U.S. Department of Defense office is tracking the debris. The result of plotting analysis will be posted to a public website.