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NASA
An artist's conception shows the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite in orbit.
NASA says a defunct six-ton satellite is due to re-enter the atmosphere — with the potential to rain debris upon Earth.
The Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite, or UARS, is expected to come down in late September or early October, the space agency said today in an advisory. "Although the spacecraft will break into pieces during re-entry, not all of it will burn up in the atmosphere," NASA said.
The agency said it's too early to say exactly when UARS will make its final plunge, or exactly where any debris will come down. Russian news reports suggested that Moscow was "in the zone of risk," but that projection was based merely on the inclination of UARS' orbit.
"The orbital track and re-entry location are going to be more refined as the days pass," NASA spokeswoman Beth Dickey told me today.
UARS was deployed from the shuttle Discovery in 1991 to study Earth's atmosphere and its interactions with the sun. The $750 million mission measured the concentrations and distribution of gases important to ozone depletion, climate change and other atmospheric phenomena. NASA says readings from UARS provided conclusive evidence that chlorine in the atmosphere, originating from human-produced chlorofluorocarbons, is at the root of the polar ozone hole.
The satellite was decommissioned in 2005. "They had put it in a disposal orbit at that point, and that disposal orbit reduced its orbital lifetime by about 20 years," Dickey said. One NASA account suggests that the satellite was at one time projected to come down in the 2009-2010 time frame.
NASA says it plans to post updates about UARS' status weekly until four days before the anticipated re-entry, and then daily until about 24 hours before re-entry. Further updates would come at 12 hours, four hours and two hours before re-entry. The Joint Space Operations Center of the U.S. Strategic Command at California's Vandenberg Air Force Base is monitoring UARS' status around the clock, NASA said.
The satellite's current orbit is 155 by 174 miles (250 by 280 kilometers), with an inclination of 57 degrees. NASA said. That means the satellite would have to descend into the atmosphere somewhere between 57 degrees north latitude and 57 degrees south. NASA estimated that the debris footprint would stretch about 500 miles.
"If there is something you think may be a piece of UARS, do not touch it," NASA said. "Contact a local law-enforcement official for assistance."
NASA's advisory emphasized out that the risk to public safety or property "is extremely small."
"Since the beginning of the Space Age in the late 1950s, there have been no confirmed reports of an injury resulting fromre-entering space objects," it said. "Nor is there a record of significant property damage resulting from a satellite re-entry."
UARS' status will be the subject of a NASA teleconference at 11 a.m. ET Friday.
Update for 11:25 a.m. ET Sept. 9: I've updated this item as well as the headline to reflect NASA's latest figure for UARS' mass. Its total dry mass is 5.7 metric tons, or 6.27 English tons, says NASA's Nick Johnson.
Tip o' the Log to Leonard David and the Coalition for Space Exploration.
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It was TEA flavored Kool Aid.
Note To Self: buy helmet
Note To Self: buy helmet
57 degrees??? Isn't that like saying all the habitable area between the north and south poles?
Look up, is it a plane, no it is a bird, no it is a radioisotope thermoelectric generator (RTG)!
Why are we scraping $750 million dollars worth of instruments? I say add an additional requirement to NASA apart from cleaning up all the space debris, all new satellites must be retrievable.
I believe that all satellites can be captured by the Canadarm on the shuttle. Slight problem though, a) the cost of a mission to go into a special orbit to capture that satellite, and b) er um, the space shuttle has been retired.
Israel's fault.
I was going to blame Canada :(
So, if a piece comes through the roof of your house and kills one of your family remember, DO NOT TOUCH IT. Naughty naughty.
And remember, the risk to public safety was extremely small. You just happen to be one unlucky son of a bitch.
(You would think that if they can put it into a "disposal orbit") they might also arrange to have it disintegrate over the Pacific ocean. Oh. I forgot. That's why they cancelled the space program. They've become incompetent, which, if nothing else, is at least in conformity with the rest of the government).
UARS, you was one SOB. Nailed down conclusively chloro humanity. Now if they could just do that with CO2 catastrophy.
Hello,,,,,My name Peggy,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,You have problem??????????????
According to the Republican Taliban this is Obama's fault. If Rick Perry were in charge, this would never happen. With proper prayer and Divine intervention, this satellite would miraculously achieve a soft landing in Houston averting a confrontation with Russia.
whathat:D Your memory is a bit off. Obama actually promised to begin drawing down in Iraq, which he did, and ramp up in Afgan, which he also did. This is a fact.
I'm getting tired of looking up into the night sky and seeing rusty old cars, McDonald's bags, and Starbucks cups floating around. NASA needs to clean up their garbage so I can at least see the Moon!
Earlier China blew up an errant satellite in space and everyone complained about that, Why not use it for target practice and blow it into smaller bits so it DOES burn up? We don't have a robot up there?
I blame Obama or Bush.............Ok, thank God we got that out of the way....
no comment.........
Blame Bush.
I must have come to the wrong thread. I thought this was the NASA/falling-space-debris conversation and not the Bush/Obama/Iraq/Afghanistan/economic/political/backbiting/bickering/spitting/cesspool exchange.
My bad...
Rick Perry I praying for a landing in TX. It would create 70 more new jobs picking up the shiny metal parts for recycling. You know what Plutonium is worth these days???
All space junk should be added to the ISS for recycling. Maybe there is a piece they could use to fix the ISS so they wouldn't have to abandon it.
Soylent Green is People! Wolverines! Run to da Choppa! Barney Frank is Horny! RUUUUUUNNNNN!
Just practiciing for when the satel
lite hits and we all die or something.Dear Team and readers,
Do you have environmental concerns ?
As a participant of Singularity University 2011 at NASA , let me please share with you my video about space debris:
or
Thanks and feel free to share,
Jazz
I think you will find that this is all Thatchers fault. Why? Because she pinched my milk.