That Fireball Flying Over Michigan This Week Was a Failed Russian Spy Satellite

Earlier this week, we told you about a mysterious fireball that was spotted in the sky over Michigan.

Reports came in from all over the state with people thinking it was a meteor, satellite or maybe even aliens. I think we all knew it wasn't aliens but whether it was a meteor or satellite was the real question.

When I first wrote about the fireball in the sky, I mentioned that when I was a kid I witnessed a satellite that had crashed into Saginaw Bay and it looked really similar to this strange object. Even the American Meteorological Society said that it wasn't a natural fireball and appeared to be the re-entry of an unknown satellite or spent rocket body.

Well, come to find out it was in fact a satellite that was crashing to earth. More specifically it was a failed Russian spy satellite that crashed back to Earth Wednesday morning.

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According to Space, Kosmos-2551 was a Russian reconnaissance satellite that launched on Sept. 9 but apparently failed shortly thereafter. The spacecraft had not adjusted its orbit once since liftoff. It was predicted on October 18 that it would re-enter the earth's atmosphere, which of course it did.

I wish that I would have personally witnessed the satellite crashing to earth but I was fast asleep at 12:43 am. Thankfully there were a bunch of Michiganders that not only witnessed it but also caught a video of it.

The video below really shows you just how long it took for that satellite to burn up.

We no longer have to wonder or make assumptions as to what that was in the skies over Michigan.