(CNN) -- Two satellites, one Russian and one American, have collided some 800 kilometers (500 miles) above Siberia, Russian news agencies reported Thursday, citing a NASA spokesman.
Debris from the collision poses no threat to the International Space Station.
The debris from the Tuesday collision poses no threat to the International Space Station, RIA-Novosti reported, citing a spokesman for the Russian federal space agency, Roscosmos.
The collision of the two communications satellites is believed to be the first of its kind, NASA was quoted as saying in Russian media.
Space collisions are rare and normally involve parts of spent rockets or mini-satellites, RIA-Novosti said.
The Russian satellite was launched in 1993 and is considered inoperative, news agency Itar-Tass and the Russia Today TV station reported.
The U.S. satellite is part of the Iridium global mobile communications system and is owned by a consortium headed by Motorola, Russian media reported. It was launched in 1997.
NASA spokesman Kelly Humphries was quoted as telling journalists that the crash produced a pair of massive debris clouds.
"It will be weeks at least before the true magnitude of these clouds are known," RIA-Novosti quoted Humphries as saying, adding analysts expect the wreckage from the collision to burn up in the Earth's atmosphere
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