Fireball spotted in Midwest wasn't a meteor, but a failed satellite - The Denver Channel

— Stargazers in the Midwest spotted a fireball in the night sky this week, but the bright streak actually turned out not to be a meteor.

NASA said the long-lasting fireball seen Tuesday was caused by the “reentry and fragmentation of a satellite.”.

The American Meteorological Society confirmed the fragment was from Kosmos-2551, a Russian reconnaissance satellite that launched in September, but it failed to maintain orbit.