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Bus-sized dead satellite may hit Earth on Friday
WASHINGTON: A six-and-ahalf tonne defunct climate satellite that has been circling the Earth for the past 20 years will make a fiery death plunge this week, Nasa officials have warned.
According to Nasa's latest projections, the bus-size Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS) will likely plummet down to Earth som etime around Friday (September 23). But there is a onein-3 ,200 chance that its debris could hit any person, the US space agency officials said.
"Re-entry is expected September 23, plus or minus a day," they said, adding that at least 26 large pieces of the dead satellite will hit the ground on Earth surviving the scorching temperatures of atmospheric re-entry.
Though it's still uncertain exactly where the debris will fall, Nasa officials indicated that the drop zone for UARS satellite debris could be anywhere between the latitudes of northern Canada and southern South America . The $750-million satellite was launched in 1991 to study the ozone layer and the Earth's upper atmosphere to better understand their role in the planet's climate.
According to Nasa's latest projections, the bus-size Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS) will likely plummet down to Earth som etime around Friday (September 23). But there is a onein-3 ,200 chance that its debris could hit any person, the US space agency officials said.
"Re-entry is expected September 23, plus or minus a day," they said, adding that at least 26 large pieces of the dead satellite will hit the ground on Earth surviving the scorching temperatures of atmospheric re-entry.
Though it's still uncertain exactly where the debris will fall, Nasa officials indicated that the drop zone for UARS satellite debris could be anywhere between the latitudes of northern Canada and southern South America . The $750-million satellite was launched in 1991 to study the ozone layer and the Earth's upper atmosphere to better understand their role in the planet's climate.
Comments
Basically anywhere not the south or north pole...otherwise known as everywhere people live.
But last time something like this happened it crashed in western Australia and the US was fined for littering.