Investigation of satellite collision needs days

The US State Department is in touch with the Russian government on the investigation of a collision in space between a US commercial satellite and a Russian one, which could take days or longer, the US State Department spokesman Rob McInturff told Xinhua on Thursday.

The US government can not confirm the cause of the collision that happened on Tuesday, whether it was an accident or whether it was preventable, and what can be confirmed is the collision happened between an active US commercial satellite and an inactive Russian satellite, McInturff said.

McInturff said space experts at the State Department believe there is a very low risk for the debris to fall into Earth, since it will burn up going through the Earth's atmosphere.

There is also little chance that the debris could threaten the International Space Station.

He said the State Department has not contacted other governments including China who have assets in space other than Russia.

During the investigation the State Department's role is to communicate with related parties, while the Department of Defense and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) take the lead on the technical aspects.