Scientists were worried not just by the loss of the expensive satellites but also because the cloud of debris risked causing a chain reaction, with one collision leading to another.

Tornadoes come in many sizes but typically form a visible condensation funnel whose narrowest end reaches the earth and surrounded by a cloud of debris and dust.

That boat and those people were blown to fragments and scattered in the great clouds of debris that darkened the sky.

Indeed, last week's incident sent two large clouds of debris into the orbits of numerous satellites.