Slashdot Mirror


Satellite Piece Crashes Through Man's Roof

PolygamousRanchKid writes "A Siberian resident miraculously escaped serious injury or even death when a fragment of a Russian communication satellite crashed through the roof of his house. A Meridian satellite that was launched Friday from the Plesetsk space center in northern Russia on board a Soyuz-2 carrier rocket crashed near the Siberian city of Tobolsk minutes after lift-off. A titanium ball of about five kg fell on to the roof of a house in Ordyn district."

10 of 121 comments (clear)

  1. How does that work? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    With Fucking Magnets.

    1. Re:How does that work? by flimflammer · · Score: 4, Funny

      I lose brain cells every time I hear this.

  2. Does he get to keep it? by Tyrannosaur · · Score: 4, Interesting

    So I read the article twice- are they going to fix his house for him? Does his insurance cover "terminal velocity" damages? I vote he gets to keep the 5kg titanium ball at least - a souvenir from the great russian space program :)

    1. Re:Does he get to keep it? by Nyeerrmm · · Score: 4, Interesting

      My renters insurance and at least specifies that it covers damage from 'aircraft and spacecraft'.

      So... possibly yes?

  3. There is an important piece of information missing by lsh123 · · Score: 5, Interesting

    The house is located on Cosmonauts Street (no, this is not a joke)

  4. This isn't miraculous. It's merely fortunate. by AuraSeer · · Score: 4, Insightful

    "Miraculous" should be reserved for things that are difficult to believe, or at least wildly improbable. If the satellite fell out of the sky and hit the guy in the face, but he walked off unscathed, then you could say he "miraculously escaped injury."

    But being missed by the debris is not a miracle. It just demonstrates how small a target a person is.

    1. Re:This isn't miraculous. It's merely fortunate. by AuraSeer · · Score: 5, Funny

      I didn't say it was a miracle. "Miraculous" as an adjective can mean something looks similar to a miracle. It does not necessarily imply that an event is literally due to the intervention of a supernatural divine force.

      But hey, thanks for your input anyhow, Easily Offended Overly Dramatic Atheist Guy Who Takes The Slightest Excuse To Announce His Atheist Atheism. I keep hearing stories about you but it's nice to finally meet you in person.

  5. Donnie Darkov by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Did he get a warning from Frankovsky the giant rabbit? :)

  6. Soyuz vs Mythbusters by mbone · · Score: 4, Funny

    The Russians, not having Mythbusters, have to resort to expensive rockets to mess up local neighborhoods.

  7. Re:There is an important piece of information miss by Reservoir+Penguin · · Score: 5, Informative

    Some corrections since it fell near where I live and a lot of people got to observe the fiery trail we thought it was a plane actually)

    1) It crashed in Ordyn district of Novosibirsk region, not Tobolsk which is to the west.
    2) There is a Cosmanauts street in nearly every Russian town and from what I hear fragments were discovered all over Ordynsk, so the irony is a bit misplaced here.
    I'm too concerned about apparently poor quality control with recent launches. I agree that it's most likely due to loss of experience due to aging workforce.

    --
    US-UK-Israel: The real Axis of Evil