Russian attack sets Ukrainian home-improvement store ablaze (satellite photo)
Non-public Earth-observation satellites are aiding the planet maintain tabs on the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Sharp-eyed spacecraft operated by Maxar Technologies and Planet have documented Russian troop movements and the destruction accomplished to strategic targets in Ukraine this kind of as airbases. But the destruction and assaults have not been restricted to services with military services importance, as photographs from Virginia-dependent company BlackSky show.
Yesterday (Feb. 27), BlackSky posted on Twitter satellite imagery collected over Kharkiv, the second-most significant city in Ukraine. The shot demonstrates new craters from Russian shelling, which “skirt the edge of household locations, triggering injury to nearby provider and retail retailers,” BlackSky associates wrote in the Twitter publish.
Linked: Satellite shots reveal details of Russian invasion into Ukraine
And now (Feb. 28), the corporation posted on Twitter a satellite shot of an Epicentr K — a large dwelling-enhancement store comparable to Property Depot or Lowe’s — ablaze in the Ukrainian city of Chernihiv.
The photo was taken nowadays at 5:22 a.m. EST (1022 GMT 12:22 regional time in Chernihiv). It shows the Epicentr K ablaze, shrouded in plumes of smoke, immediately after Russian shelling rocked the spot, BlackSky associates told Place.com by way of e-mail. Scorched fields are also obvious in the shot a couple of hundred meters east of the retailer, they famous.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine is initial and foremost a humanitarian and geopolitical crisis, of system. But there could also be major impacts to spaceflight and exploration down the highway. Russia has currently claimed it will halt launches of Russian-created Soyuz rockets from Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, for case in point.
Also, Dmitry Rogozin, the head of Russia’s federal place company, not long ago claimed that financial sanctions imposed on the country as a outcome of the invasion could destroy the Global Area Station partnership.
Mike Wall is the writer of “Out There” (Grand Central Publishing, 2018 illustrated by Karl Tate), a e book about the research for alien daily life. Follow him on Twitter @michaeldwall. Adhere to us on Twitter @Spacedotcom or on Facebook.