Would it surprise you to know that another major meteor came close to striking the earth again this past weekend? So close, as a matter of fact, that it passed under the altitude of earth-orbiting geo-synchronous communications satellites.
The meteor was first detected by Russian systems just 9 hours out from Earth. There is no indication that the US systems detected the approaching object, and the US Space Command “space fence” system for tracking near-earth objects has been reportedly been shut down effective October 1 as part of the financial cut-backs in government operation.
The shutdown comes at a time when scientists are reporting an ever-increasing rate of meteor and comet activity near earth. At the same time, the Russian government is scaling up their capabilities after the December meteor explosion over Russia that injured more than 1500 people. Some skeptics suggest that the Russian effort could hide increased missile defense efforts in preparation for possible war in the Middle East.
Risk managers may need to add meteors to their list of exotic, but plausible risk scenarios.