The bus-sized satellite NASA dubbed the Upper Atmospheric Research Satellite (UARS) will make its way to Earth sooner than originally believed. NASA said, “[T]he 6 1/2-ton climate probe will plummet to Earth around Sept. 23, a day earlier than previously reported.”
UARS launched in 1991 and the satellite was shut down in 2005, NASA said, because its mission had been completed.
There’s good news and bad news in an article at space.com:
“NASA expects at least 26 large pieces of the massive satellite to survive the scorching temperatures of re-entry and reach Earth's surface. Titanium pieces and onboard tanks could be among that debris, but the UARS satellite carries no toxic propellant (NASA used up all the fuel in 2005).”
Here are a few highlights:
Area for strike potential on Earth is about 500 miles (804 kilometers) long.
There’s a 1 in 3,200 possibility some of the debris could hit people or structures on the ground, but take comfort because NASA said that’s pretty remote.
UARS will end up in a region somewhere between the latitudes of northern Canada and southern South America.
NASA is hoping for a water splashdown because about 75 percent of Planet Earth comprises water.
I hope that Obama gets hit by it!




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