Follow-Up on Mexico's Hidalgo Crash

According to authorities, the explosion phenomenon that occurred somehwere between the Mexican States of Puebla and Hidalgo last week remains -- to the disappointment of those claiming meteorites or alien spacecraft -- the result of reentry debris from a Russian satellite.

At 10:36 hours on February 12, the NOTIMEX news agency reported that scientist Fernando de la Peña determined that the remains of Cosmos 2421 crashed between the borders of the Puebla and Hidalgo. Miguel Angel Martínez, director of the Puebla-based Civil Protection System (SEPROCI) reported that authorities had swept the area following an alleged meteorite impact in the region, stating that reports had been received from Ahuazotepec, Puebla and Cuatepec, Hidalgo. However, no object had been located.

Moreover, NORAD reported that not meteorite falls had been detected in the confines of the states of Puebla and Hidalgo on Wednesday afternoon. Stacey Knott, a NORAD spokesperson, said "nothing was recorded in that region," adding that "we are not always monitoring all areas."

Police officers in Pachuca (Hidalgo) combed a wide area searching for an object reported as a "brilliant fireball" (El Universal, 02.12.10) without finding anything. Rita Hernández, a resident of Ventoquipa, observed: "I don't know how it happened. All I recall is hearing a powerful noise; my house shook and the doors and windows appeared to brake. My son woke up and ran out to the back yard, and I ran out behind him."

Marina Cruz of Metepec shares a similar story. "I was eating with my mom when a sudden loud noise [was heard]. We thought something had crashed. The windowpanes shook and the curtains lifted." She ran out to the street in fear, and looked up to the sky to see "a light lika a blowtowrch, and as I looked, I thought about the omens regarding the end of the world in 2012."

As of this writing (Monday, February 15, 2010) no further information is available from Mexican sources as to the nature of this event. INEXPLICATA will endeavor to report any discoveries of meteorite fragments or space junk, should these come to light.

BREAKING NEWS:

On Tuesday, February 16, 2010, INEXPLICATA received a message from Prof. Ana Luisa Cid regarding the Hidalgo Crash. NOVOSTI, the Russian news agency, published a communiqué from Alexandr Vorobiov, spokesman for the Russian Space Agency, denying that fragments of Cosmos-2421 had fallen on Mexican territory.

"The media reported that fragments of Russian satellite Cosmos-2421 fell over Mexico. When dealing with Russian spacecraft for civilian application, all of these remain in orbit. With regard to military satellites, the Ministry of Defense has not advised ROSCOSMOS of any incident whatsoever."

The Russian Ministry of Defense reports that military satellite Cosmos-2421 was disconnected and decomissioned after having experienced damage. The communiqué goes on to say that the satellite experienced a breakage of its solar cells after having collided with a small space object.