Is the Earth About to be Impacted by Space Junk?
The answer is surprisingly yes. The problem is that scientists have no idea where or when a now decommissioned science satellite will hit our planet.
This 6.5 ton satellite, or known to the folks at NASA as the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite, is going to fall to Earth on Friday. However, there is no real way to predict where it’s going to land or when it’s going to happen. Basically, it’s heads up all day.
According to the Chicago Tribune, the satellite has been just floating in space since they stopped using it back in 2005. It has been floating in a lower orbit that would pull it more towards Earths atmosphere, and tomorrow it’s suppose to make a crash landing. Geza Gyuk the director of astronomy at Adler Planetarium, said it’s hard to predict because of certain variables. They don’t expect it to hit North America though, but it does float over us usually.
They expect most of it burn up in the Earths atmosphere, but some 26 pieces will still reach Earth and will be spread out over a 500 mile radius. Over the last 50 years 1 piece of space junk has fallen to Earth, and no injuries have been reported. Not even when Skylab, and Indian space station, fell from orbit in 1979.