Put Six Tons in Space and Whaddya Get?

Tuckerfan · Sep 9, 2011

Incoming!

An outdated NASA satellite, which has been adrift in orbit for six years, is falling back to Earth, and some of its debris is expected to reach the ground in the next few weeks. But despite the chance that bits of debris could land in North or South America, the space agency is assuring the public that there is no reason to be alarmed.

"Satellites re-entering is actually very commonplace," Nick Johnson, chief scientist of the Orbital Debris Program at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, said at a news briefing today (Sept. 9). "Last year, for example, we averaged over one object per day falling back uncontrolled into the atmosphere." [Photos: Space Debris & Cleanup Concepts]

NASA's Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS), a school bus-size spacecraft, will re-enter Earth's atmosphere sometime in late September or early October, agency officials said. Debris from the satellite could fall over a swath of land stretching more than 500 miles (804 kilometers) anywhere between northern Canada and southern South America.

Narrowing down the area of impact will not be possible until much closer to when the pieces will hit, said Air Force Maj. Michael Duncan, deputy chief of the U.S. Strategic Command's space situational awareness division.

Johnson stressed that these incidents are not so rare. In 2010 alone, some 400 pieces of space debris were cataloged by the U.S. Space Surveillance Network, he said. [Infographic: NASA's Falling UARS Satellite Explained]
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Much more at the link.

John Castle · Sep 15, 2011

Cool. Maybe a chunk will touch down on the people a few doors down and knock out their damn stereo.

Jenee · Sep 15, 2011

Another light year older and deeper in debt?

Tuckerfan · Sep 17, 2011

[Professor Frink] I, uh, forgot to carry the one. [/PF]

NASA space junk experts have refined the forecast for the anticipated death plunge of a giant satellite, with the U.S. space agency now predicting the 6 1/2-ton climate probe will plummet to Earth around Sept. 23, a day earlier than previously reported.

The defunct bus-size spacecraft is NASA's Upper Atmospheric Research Satellite (UARS), which launched in 1991 and was shut down in 2005 after completing its mission. The satellite was expected to fall to Earth sometime this year, with experts initially pegging a weeks-long window between late September and early October, then narrowing it to the last week of this month.

That window, NASA now says, has been trimmed to just three days.

"Re-entry is expected Sept. 23, plus or minus a day. The re-entry of UARS is advancing because of a sharp increase in solar activity since the beginning of this week," NASA officials wrote in a status update today (Sept. 16). The projection is a day earlier than a previous forecast released by NASA yesterday.

NASA spokeswoman Beth Dickey confirmed with SPACE.com earlier today that the reason UARS is expected to fall early in its re-entry window is because of the sharp uptick in solar activity. Solar effects from the sun can create an extra drag on satellites in space because they can heat the Earth's atmosphere, causing it to expand, agency officials have said.

NASA officials expect the UARS satellite to fall over a region somewhere between the latitudes of northern Canada and southern South America, which leaves a vast swath of the world open as a possible re-entry point. About 75 percent of the Earth's surface is covered in water, which makes an ocean splashdown likely, NASA and experts have said.

NASA and the Joint Space Operations Center of U.S. Strategic Command at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., are keeping a close watch on the falling satellite, but will only be able to pinpoint its actual crash zone to within about 6,000 miles (10,000 km) about two hours before re-entry.

As of Thursday, the UARS satellite was flying in an orbit of between 143 and 158 miles (230 to 255 km) above Earth. That orbit is dropping lower each day, NASA officials said. [Infographic: NASA's Falling UARS Satellite Explained]

NASA has advised the public not to touch any debris that may reach the surface, should it be discovered. Instead, the space agency says that anyone who finds satellite debris should contact their local law enforcement agency.

The $750 million UARS mission was designed to measure ozone and other chemical compounds found in Earth's ozone layer in order to better understand how the upper atmosphere affects our planet. It also recorded wind speeds and temperatures in the stratosphere, as well as the energy Earth received from the sun.
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garamet · Sep 17, 2011

JOSH
You know, Donna got a hold of this fax that was sent to the press office from the O.S.F. at NASA.

C.J.
What, something falling out of the sky?

JOSH
Yeah.

C.J.
We get that fax once a week.

JOSH
Yeah, but Donna doesn't know that. She thinks it's an emergency.

C.J.
And you didn't want to tell her?

JOSH
No, 'cause the other way you get a day's worth of entertainment without leaving the office. She doesn't know that these things fall out of the sky all the time...once every ten days, as a matter of fact. Since the first year we started putting man-made objects in space, 17,000 have come back and, remarkably, not one person has been hit.

http://www.westwingtranscripts.com/search.php?flag=getTranscript&id=42

Chuck · Sep 17, 2011

Whatever it was, it just burned up in the atmosphere.

Amaris · Sep 17, 2011

Tuckerfan · Sep 24, 2011

We think its coming down tonight.

As of 10:30 p.m. EDT on Sept. 23, 2011, the orbit of UARS was 85 miles by 90 miles (135 km by 140 km). Re-entry is expected between 11:45 p.m. Friday, Sept. 23, and 12:45 a.m., Sept. 24, Eastern Daylight Time (3:45 a.m. to 4:45 a.m. GMT). During that time period, the satellite will be passing over Canada and Africa, as well as vast areas of the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian oceans. The risk to public safety is very remote.
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Forbin · Sep 24, 2011

Nu? Is it kaput yet?

garamet · Sep 24, 2011

Yup.

Forbin · Sep 25, 2011

But where did it land?

Zombie · Sep 26, 2011

Have you checked your kitbash box?

Jenee · Sep 26, 2011

I didn't get hit by a toilet seat.

Anyone else?

Zombie · Sep 26, 2011

That can be arranged.

Jenee · Sep 26, 2011

ha! Like you're going to come up here to Bleeding Heart Liberal Country.

Liet · Sep 26, 2011

Forbin said: ↑

But where did it land?
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Exactly where a betting man would bet. The Pacific Ocean.

Zombie · Sep 26, 2011

Jenee said: ↑

ha! Like you're going to come up here to Bleeding Heart Liberal Country.
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Don't need too if we drop it from space. Now hold still.

Jenee · Sep 26, 2011

Uh .. ok.

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Put Six Tons in Space and Whaddya Get?

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garamet "The whole world is watching."

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Forbin Do you feel fluffy, punk?

garamet "The whole world is watching."

Forbin Do you feel fluffy, punk?

Zombie dead and loving it

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Zombie dead and loving it

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Liet Dr. of Horribleness, Ph.D.

Zombie dead and loving it

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Put Six Tons in Space and Whaddya Get?

Tuckerfan BMF

John Castle Banned Writer

Jenee Driver 8

Tuckerfan BMF

garamet "The whole world is watching."

Chuck Go Giants!

Amaris Guest

Tuckerfan BMF

Forbin Do you feel fluffy, punk?

garamet "The whole world is watching."

Forbin Do you feel fluffy, punk?

Zombie dead and loving it

Jenee Driver 8

Zombie dead and loving it

Jenee Driver 8

Liet Dr. of Horribleness, Ph.D.

Zombie dead and loving it

Jenee Driver 8

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