A 38-year-old retired US spy satellite exploded under mysterious circumstances on September 13, 2026, according to a Daily Mail report.
Catalogued as USA 32, the satellite was in low Earth orbit at the time, approximately 460 miles above Earth’s surface. It was officially launched by the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) in 1988 as part of a Cold War mission to intercept Soviet radar signals.
Analysts claim that a mechanical failure may have triggered the explosion. There has been no official statement on the cause yet. The US Space Force’s tracking arm, Space-Track, states that further analysis is ongoing. The lack of an official explanation has given rise to theories that the explosion may have occurred due to an anti-satellite (ASAT) weapon or unidentified forces.
The leading explanations
Space analysts are attempting to reverse-engineer the incident by tracking the path of the resulting debris cloud. The most widely accepted explanation points towards an internal battery rupture. Even in cases where a spacecraft is inactive, it can still carry residual propellant or aging battery cells. Therefore, after approximately four decades of extreme thermal cycling, a ruptured battery cell may have triggered the sudden explosion.
Theories also suggest that a high-speed impact from a small piece of existing space junk may have caused the explosion. This could also involve an undetected micrometeoroid. Scientists have raised concerns regarding this theory. Fresh space junk in low Earth orbit threatens over 200 active satellites that are currently operating within approximately 30 miles of the explosion’s altitude. This congested band also includes weather satellites and the Iridium NEXT commercial communications constellation. The US Space Force has also officially confirmed that debris from the explosion is being incorporated into daily collision screenings.
Moreover, while there is currently no evidence supporting this claim, the explosion may also have been the result of a deliberate attack. The satellite may have been hit by a missile or a space weapon. This theory has surfaced amid official military announcements regarding orbital defense capabilities and escalating geopolitical tensions.
This was NO ACCIDENT. You all know who the likely suspects are. One country demonstrated its ability to hit satellites with impact weapons a few years ago, and that same country left a disgusting amount of orbital debris behind. Since very few countries have the ability to launch an object that would target US spy satellites, we can limit the list to a very tiny number. Although we may not have the best relations with France at the moment, the likelihood of France attacking a US satellite is exactly Zero. The remaining suspects are India (US ally, would not consider this), China (#1 US antagonist) and Russia (#2 US antagonist, with a currently under-pressure military that probably can’t afford gratuitous attacks on US satellites. So US authorities, please send Xi Xing Ping the bill for the satellite and the replacement and the orbital debris cleanup. Mr. Xi Xing Ping recently sent his daughter to Australia to deposit his “family fortune” of 1.4 Trillion dollars—that is Trillion with a T. Either Mr. Xi Xing Ping or his government can easily afford to compensate the USA for this downed device and of course they can pay for the cleanup as well.