28 September 2011 11:00 pm Views - 6308
A German Plunging Satellite is set to crash to Earth next month and follows the Pacific Ocean space debris dive of the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS) NASA Satellite, but where will it land?
A one in 2000 chance of this hitting someone has been given. Germany's Space Telescope (ROSAT) is set to become space debris in a fiery fall back to Earth next month.
The reason this will be a bit more dangerous is due to the mirror's pieces surviving re-entry. These pieces; unlike the UARS, will be like knives being thrown out of an airliner and not knowing where they will be.
According to space agency officials, this is a more dangerous situation than UARS was. Where will it land? The location is unknown at the time but due to the recent and upcoming solar storms this and next month, this re-entry could be sooner than space agency officials think.
UARS was the same way. NASA expected it to return toward the end of September and into Early October, however solar storm activity rendered this earlier than forecasted. (Source: The Weather Space)