Old NASA Satellite Falls Harmlessly from Sky Off Alaska
After nearly 40 years circling Earth, a retired NASA science satellite plunged harmlessly through the environment off the Alaska coast, NASA reported Monday.
The Defense Division ratified that the satellite– put in orbit in 1984 by astronaut Sally Ride– reentered late Sunday evening over the Bering Sea, a few hundred miles from Alaska. NASA stated that did not receive reports of injury or damage from falling debris.
Late last week, NASA stated it expected the majority of the 5,400-pound (2,450-kilogram) Earth Radiation Budget Satellite to burn up in the environment but that some pieces could survive. The space agency placed the odds of falling debris injuring somebody at 1-in-9,400.
Space shuttle Challenger brought the satellite into orbit, and the first American woman in space established it free. The satellite gauged ozone in the environment and examined how Earth absorbed and radiated power from the sun before retiring in 2005, well beyond its expected functioning lifetime.
Read the original article on PHYS.
Read more: There’s One Thing Dogs do Not Utilize Their Tail For, Scientists Say.
