Out-of-control satellite slows rate of descent as it closes in on Earth

[News_Editor]

Out-of-control satellite slows rate of descent as it closes in on Earth

2011-09-24 09:17:09 GMT+7 (ICT)

WASHINGTON, D.C. (BNO NEWS) -- An out-of-control U.S. satellite slowed its rate of descent on Friday as it neared the Earth's atmosphere where it will partly burn up before crashing somewhere on the planet, NASA said. Impact is expected late Friday or early Saturday.

NASA's Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS) is expected to re-enter Earth's atmosphere on late Friday evening or early Saturday morning U.S. time, almost six years after the end of its productive scientific life. Although the spacecraft will break into pieces during re-entry, not all of it will burn up in the atmosphere.

As of 7 p.m. EDT on Friday, the orbit of UARS was 90 miles by 95 miles (145 kilometers by 150 kilometers). Its rate of descent had slowed earlier on Friday, according to NASA, which said the satellite's orientation or configuration had apparently changed.

"During that time period (when it re-enters the atmosphere), the satellite will be passing over Canada, Africa and Australia, as well as vast areas of the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian oceans," NASA said in a Friday update. "There is a low probability any debris that survives re-entry will land in the United States, but the possibility cannot be discounted because of this changing rate of descent."

Earlier this week, NASA repeatedly said the satellite's debris was not expected to impact North America, but the changed rate of descent forced the agency to retract those statements. The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration later issued a warning to pilots.

"Aircraft are advised that a potential hazard may occur due to reentry of satellite UARS into the Earth's atmosphere," a special Notice To Airmen (NOTAM) said. "FAA is working with the Department of Defense and NASA to ensure the most current re-entry information is provided to operators as quickly as possible. Further NOTAMs will be issued if specific information becomes available indicating a United States airspace impact."

It added: "In the interest of flight safety, it is critical that all pilots/flight crew members report any observed falling space debris to the appropriate ATC (Air Traffic Control) facility and include position, altitude, time, and direction of debris observed."

Earlier on Friday, a Chinese expert said a debris tracker will be able to give a fairly accurate prediction where debris will fall about two hours before it hits Earth, giving any residents some time to evacuate. Pang Zhihao, a researcher from the Chinese Research Institute of Space Technology, said it is most likely that the debris will fall into the ocean or unpopulated areas.

NASA previously said the risk to public safety or property is extremely small, but a small chance remains that debris could impact a populated area. It is estimated some 26 pieces, the heaviest weighing around 350 pounds (158 kilograms), will survive the re-entry and fall to Earth.

"It is impossible to pinpoint just where in that zone the debris will land, but NASA estimates the debris footprint will be about 500 miles (804 kilometers) long," the agency said earlier. It added that, since the beginning of the Space Age in the late-1950s, there have been no confirmed reports of an injury resulting from re-entering space objects.

One of the reasons why it is unknown where the debris will crash is because the satellite can skip and skitter on the Earth's atmosphere, making it difficult to predict a time of re-entry. The debris will also roll and rotate as it goes down due to pieces sticking out, making it harder to project a precise course.

-- © BNO News All rights reserved 2011-09-24

[webfact]

NASA: We can now confirm that #UARS is down! Debris fell to Earth between 11:23 p.m. EDT Friday, Sept. 23, and 1:09 a.m. EDT Sept. 24.

[jpinx]

NASA: We can now confirm that #UARS is down! Debris fell to Earth between 11:23 p.m. EDT Friday, Sept. 23, and 1:09 a.m. EDT Sept. 24.

where?

[CMwanderer]

Apparently somewhere over the Pacific Ocean.

But I did read that there was a 1 in 3200 chance that the 6 ton satellite could land on someone but that 90% of it would burn up on entry.

[kevinellerton]

Where are all the calls for regulation??? Isn't this ThaiVisa?

Forget jetski thugs, dangerous roads and berserk elephants. This is a frikken gigantic lump of space metal falling out of the sky at hundreds of miles per hour. Is it cool with you guys that this thing could have hit any of us, anywhere in the world? I guess I never got the memo when they launched the thing a couple decades ago.

"Yeah so we're gonna launch this thing and gather some really cool scientific data, mkay. And by the way, like, we don't know what's gonna happen in like 20 years but it might just fall out of the sky again in a random location. Mkay sounds good stand by for countdown."

If this was a thai satellite I think there would be a lot of sarcasm and criticism of the "Mai Ben Rai" mentality. I find it very interesting to see that those dependable critics of thai folly are not speaking out against this flagrant example of the same reckless behavior on the part of NASA (and Americans in general).

[OccamsRazor]

I find it very interesting to see that those dependable critics of thai folly are not speaking out against this flagrant example of the same reckless behavior on the part of NASA (and Americans in general).

I see we have an American bashing opportunist in our midst. So, no other countries have launched vehicles in space? No others have uncontrolled re-entry vehicles. How many have just kept quiet and let the vehicle do what it may and not announce it as the US did?

List of 'known' countries launching:

Soviet Union/Russia

USA

France

Japan

China

UK

European Space Agency

India

Israel

Ukraine

Iran

Oh and around 3 dozen other countries such as Canada, Australia, Germany, Poland, etc... have launched payloads via hiring launch vehicles.

[Tywais]

Some YouTube videos on it but no confirmation of authenticity.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YNvhWXIPeRg

[kevinellerton]

Razor...

My point is not America bashing. In fact, I am a born-and-bred American citizen! I'm not a patriot, but I'm not a hater either. Why take sides? All that does is create division in the world.

What I was pointing out was the tendency of TV members to jump all over the Thai people / government when anything that could be considered irresponsible and dangerous comes to light. I was surprised to see that the same rigorous standard is not applied to other races & governments... presumably ones that are more "respectable." I sincerely expected to see those comments in this thread.

This double standard seems to imply an underlying racism and prejudice in the TV community, and makes me wonder why all those (thai-hating) people are living in Thailand in the first place. I feel sad to think that it may just be the sex/fun/weather/etc, and that most of us "farangs" are actually antagonistic toward the sweet, warm, gentle, loving people who inhabit the land.

[OccamsRazor]

My point is not America bashing. In fact, I am a born-and-bred American citizen! I'm not a patriot, but I'm not a hater either. Why take sides? All that does is create division in the world.

What I was pointing out was the tendency of TV members to jump all over the Thai people / government when anything that could be considered irresponsible and dangerous comes to light.

That wasn't clear in the wording of your previous post. Also being an American I missed the sarcasm in it, something else we get accused of. But I see your point now.

[WarpSpeed]

As I understand it these satellites have quite an expensive amount of rare metals in their makeup such as gold for example. Seems some industrious Indian firm should thinking of how they can send up a recycling crew to collect and dissemble them as much as possible and bring back the rare metals with the price of gold these days and what about titanium? Obviously schedule more then one at a time to make it somewhat cost effective ..

Edited September 25, 2011 by WarpSpeed

[rmacdon61]

I find it very interesting to see that those dependable critics of thai folly are not speaking out against this flagrant example of the same reckless behavior on the part of NASA (and Americans in general).

I see we have an American bashing opportunist in our midst. So, no other countries have launched vehicles in space? No others have uncontrolled re-entry vehicles. How many have just kept quiet and let the vehicle do what it may and not announce it as the US did?

List of 'known' countries launching:

Soviet Union/Russia

USA

France

Japan

China

UK

European Space Agency

India

Israel

Ukraine

Iran

Oh and around 3 dozen other countries such as Canada, Australia, Germany, Poland, etc... have launched payloads via hiring launch vehicles.

Oh and around 3 dozen other countries such as Canada, Australia, Germany, Poland

But you all know, if it was a Canadian Sat. we would have asked permission for it to degrade and fall to earth!!!!

Canadians are So Polite!!!!