Kosmos 2251

Kosmos-2251, (Космос-2251 meaning Cosmos 2251), was a Russian Strela-2M communications satellite. It was launched into Low Earth orbit from Site 132/1 at the Plesetsk Cosmodrome at 04:17 UTC on 16 June 1993, by a Kosmos-3M carrier rocket.

Destruction
At 16:56 UTC on 10 February 2009, it collided with Iridium 33, an Iridium satellite, in the first major collision of two satellites in Earth orbit. The Iridium satellite, which was operational at the time of the collision, was destroyed, as was Kosmos-2251. NASA reported that a large amount of debris was produced by the collision.