Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2019/10/27/nancy-mumby-welke.html
…
4 Likes
Apparently Samsung’s “satellite” went up by balloon, so that would explain its condition.
Edit: link to (ugh) Daily Mail: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7618981/Samsungs-space-selfie-satellite-crashes-Earth-landing-Michigan-familys-backyard.html
29 Likes
I guess it was happy to be on the ground in such remarkable condition.
Terminal velocity from any height should have shredded those panels.
13 Likes
The details of the story are thin and confusing.
And the photo is so fuzzy that I’d be almost as convinced that what we’re looking at here is Bigfoot.
25 Likes
When I come across junk, I always check to see if there’s anything useful. The story dipoesn’t indicate if this was a real satellite, full of parts and maybe solar panels, or just a box made to look like a satellite. If it falls from the sky, the it shouid belong to homeowner, though maybe there’s s a rule otherwise.
2 Likes
Looks like a business opportunity.
6 Likes
Yeah, I was immediately suspicious of the “satellite’s” remarkably unscorched condition.
Here:
is Samsung’s press release describing the SpaceSelfie mission which was set to be attached to a high-altitude (~65 K feet) balloon. There is a picture in this article which matches the device seen in the Facebook video (well, except for it being broken into several parts).
So launched on October 24th and crashing on the 26th, it lasted for only 2 days.
10 Likes
I would totally keep it. It is definitely not a space “satellite”. Looks like a high altitude balloon tether. I wish it was my yard. 
9 Likes
(grumble)how come a satellite never falls into our yard
/kicks pebble
/nothing interesting ever happens in our town
33 Likes
From the DailyMail.CO.UK article that @ichibut linked to (way to go!):
…Samsung’s ‘space selfie’ pseudo satellite that was sent to the outer reaches of the stratosphere so that users could have their selfies be shown in space crash landed in the backyard of a Michigan family on Saturday.…
…The device appears to be the same one attached to a high-altitude balloon that Samsung launched toward the edge of space from South Dakota.…
Source: DailyMail Sunday October 27th 2019
Note: emphasis mine
I was hoping for something more along the lines of Sky Cleaning Day in the episode of Max Headroom titled Learning ¹ where plebeian people go about their business using umbrellas hoping not to get wacked by the constant fall of space debris during the yearly directed skyfall.
At least they should be able to keep the object as it was technically not a satellite, but I bet Samsung will pay a reasonable amount for the object to be returned- and likely also give them some tech.
7 Likes
Seems like a marketing stunt.
7 Likes
Good luck getting through to Samsung customer service.
14 Likes
According to pics on the Gratiot County Herald’s FB page, the balloon was still attached and stuck in a tree, which would explain why it survived the crash so well.
Note the red tether in the second pic.
11 Likes
The amazing thing is that it didn’t burst into flames, you don’t often find that behavior in a Samsung
42 Likes
This is clearly a government coverup. Roswell all over again. /s
6 Likes
So this is the Galaxy Fold 2?
22 Likes
Meh, that has been done before… no wait, something much more impressive was done already to sell soba noodles
4 Likes
24 Likes
13 Likes
Why does it look like it’s made out of foam core and an old lawn chair?
14 Likes
