U.S. Tracks Chinese Spy Satellite

The United States is tracking a doomed Chinese military spy satellite that is expected to crash to Earth around April 1, the U.S. Space Command said Tuesday.

The satellite, which weighs more than 2 tons and is the size of a small car, is most likely to hit water, foiling Western agencies that hope to gain insights into China’s spying and space programs.

But there is sufficient risk of it hitting land that it has been put on a special list by the U.S. Space Command, which tracks thousands of orbiting objects.

Unlike some satellites, which burn up as they re-enter Earth’s atmosphere, the Chinese craft was built to withstand re-entry so that its cameras and exposed film could be recovered by the Chinese army, said Aviation Week and Space Technology, an industry journal.