[ridgeguy]

>...nine times faster than a fired bullet... I don't think so.

A NASA publication [1] gives the SOFI piece impact velocity as about 800 feet/sec. Rifle bullets reach 2.5K - 3K fps muzzle velocity routinely.

[1] https://history.nasa.gov/columbia/Troxell/Columbia%20Web%20S...

[bumby]

I assume the author mistakenly took the orbital velocity instead of the delta-V at impact