Watch moment crashing Chinese spaceship streaks through skies over US & breaks apart in storm of falling fireballs
THIS is the moment terrifying fiery streaks were spotted across the American sky as scientists confirmed the spectacle was caused by a crashing Chinese spaceship.
Clusters of fireballs were seen darting over several Southern US states on Saturday night.
The GaoJing 1-02 satellite blew up and was spotted over Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas, and Missouri.
This Chinese spaceship was a derelict satellite which was launched into space in 2016.
The defunct spacecraft set off a terrifying light show after it burned in the Earth’s atmosphere, experts say.
Fiery streaks started to appear over US states after the satellite plunged into the Earth’s atmosphere above New Orleans at around 10pm.
Confusion was ignited across Southern states as people mistook the burning spacecraft for a meteor or a pack of mysterious drones.
At least 120 reports of the fireballs were filed by worried citizens to the American Meteor Society.
This craft was one of a constellation of four satellites launched into space from China in 2016.
GaoJing 1-02 was switched off two years ago but it has only just crashed back to Earth.
It’s debris was scattered over several states as the craft was speeding at thousands of miles per hour on the way down.
Astronomer Jonathan McDowell said the crashing satellite likely did not leave any fragments on Earth due to it’s small size, according to Forbes.
The expert revealed it was likely the spaceship had burned completely while plummeting from the sky.
Shocked eyewitnesses recorded the bizarre sight and shared what they believed the fireballs were.
“I convinced myself that someone had some strange Christmas lights up on a hill,” one person wrote on X.
Despite this, some surprised viewers believed the burning satellite was in fact something more evil.
One person said: “Chinese satellites and Chinese drones over American soil. I mean what could go wrong,”
Another person wrote: “Now don’t tell me that was a drone.”
This comes as multiple drone sightings have gripped the northeast, especially New Jersey.
Sightings of the strange UFOs were made over people’s homes but also military bases and Donald Trump’s golf course in Bedminster.
Conspiracy theories were rampant over what the UFOs could be, especially after a New Jersey senator accused the feds of being “too afraid” to reveal the truth about what was happening.
Senator Jon Bramnick called on the Department of Defense to “come clean with the American public”, The Sun has previously reported.