Bolide or Satellite?

I was outside and something caught my attention. Looking to the south, I saw what looked like a fireworks rocket about 15 degrees above the southern horizon. Within a few seconds, it grew larger; it now appeared to be the size of about 1/10 of the size of a full moon. It was a bright orange, and lasted about two seconds longer. I figured a thin band of cirrostratus clouds were obscuring the object, or it went back into space. It was small, either due to distance, size, or both.

I continued watching. Looking overhead, it reappeared and it was now obvious it was falling apart. Several pieces broke away and continued streaking across the sky. The colors of the objects ranged from orange to white. Some almost immediately burned out and the speeds were random.

Eventually, only one object was left, which continued to the north and eventually disappeared; a bright orange; about 20 degrees above the northern horizon. After a long time, I heard some dim thuds, which were the objects breaking the sound barrier.

Bolide? I don't think so. I'm thinking a satellite; probably military or foreign, considering the polar orbit and various colors of objects burning up in the atmosphere. I'm betting we'll never know.

This happened at a little after 3:00 am on 2-28-2013, in case someone is interested.

update:  It was a Chinese rocket. My suspicion of a man made object was confirmed. If you've never seen such a thing, it's damn interesting to watch.