Crashing back to Earth, NASA satellite named for Israeli triggers Kyiv air raid alarm

Craft, named for scientist Reuven Ramaty, blamed for brilliant flash over bombarded Ukrainian city, days after US space agency warned retired device would fall Wednesday

This illustration provided by NASA depicts the Reuven Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager solar observation satellite. (NASA via AP)
This illustration provided by NASA depicts the Reuven Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager solar observation satellite. (NASA via AP)

KYIV, Ukraine — A powerful flash in the sky over the Ukrainian capital on Wednesday that triggered an air raid alert was caused by a NASA satellite — named for an Israeli scientist — reentering the atmosphere, city authorities said.

“According to preliminary information, this phenomenon was the result of a NASA space satellite falling to Earth,” the head of Kyiv’s military administration Sergiy Popko said on Telegram.

The US space agency had announced earlier this week that a retired 660-pound (300-kilogram) satellite, the Reuven Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager, would reenter the atmosphere some time on Wednesday.

RHESSI, used to observe solar flares, was launched into low Earth orbit in 2002 and decommissioned in 2018, NASA said.

Popko said a “bright glow” was observed in the sky over Kyiv around 10:00 p.m. local time.

An air raid alert was activated, Popko said, but “air defense was not in operation.”

Shortly after, the Ukrainian Air Force also said the flash was “related to the fall of a satellite/meteorite.”

Reuven Ramaty (Courtesy)

Speculation and memes abounded on Ukrainian social media after several channels posted videos showing a powerful flash lighting up the sky over Kyiv.

“While social media is amused by flying saucer memes… please do not use the official symbol of the Air Force to create memes!” the Air Force said.

In a statement on Monday, NASA said it expected most of the spacecraft to burn up as it enters the atmosphere.

“But some components are expected to survive reentry,” NASA said, adding that the risk of harm to anyone on Earth was low — approximately one in 2,467.

Ramaty, a Hungarian Jew, moved to Israel with his family in 1948, and later immigrated to the US, where he led research on gamma rays and other cosmic phenomena for NASA. He died in 2001.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.

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