Unidentified Flying Object Hit Satellite

NASA scientists said while they aren’t sure what damaged a research satellite in November, it was likely a collision with man-made space junk.

The bus-sized Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite, launched in 1991, was decommissioned in 2005 but is popular among amateur astronomers because it easily viewable from Earth, the Newport News (Va.) Daily Press reported Sunday.

Then, last November, several pieces unexpectedly flew off the satellite.

While the breaks are potentially the result of natural decay or a self-contained structural problem, NASA scientists said the most likely cause was a collision with space junk, the increasing amount of man-made and natural debris that is trapped in the Earth’s orbit.