Russia’s Aerospace Forces has confirmed that a bright object spotted in the sky over New Zealand was a missile defence satellite launched 12 years ago. 

Videos on social media published this weekend appeared to show a bright object streaking through the sky.

The Kosmos-2430 missile early-warning satellite went out of orbit on Saturday, the state-run TASS news agency reported Thursday, citing North American Aerospace DefencE Command (NORAD) data. 

The satellite has been defunct since 2012. 

The Russian military use Kosmos satellites as part of its Soviet-era “Oko” system designed to detect intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) launches.