Overhead Time Bombs - Misplaced in Orbit

On February 19th, late-night sky-gazers across Australia witnessed a brilliant explosion light up their night sky. The very bright explosion was followed by a debris cloud that hung in the sky for nearly an hour. At first it seemed destined to remain a mystery. The source of the unexpected blast is now understood to have been a Russian Briz-M rocket booster misplaced in orbit last year by the failed launch of an Arabsat communications satellite.

The fuel tanks of the Briz-M ruptured late on Feb. 19th, producing a vivid and attention-getting aerospace display and producing at least 1000 pieces of sizeable debris in a high altitude orbit. It's being labeled a "major breakup event," with a debris distribution that's much worse than last month's Chinese anti-satellite test. spaceweather.com has more information and pictures of the incendiary Briz-M breakup.