NASA Satellite Will Soon Crash To Earth After 38 Years In Space

After nearly forty years in space, NASA’s satellite is due to enter Earth’s atmosphere and burn up in it. On January 6, 2023, NASA stated that the likelihood of ERBS debris falling to Earth and causing harm to anyone is very small. As expected by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the main part of the satellite, weighing about 2450 kilograms, will burn up during re-entry into the atmosphere.

Astronaut Sally Ride, the first American woman to fly into space, released an ERBS from the cargo hold of the shuttle Challenger using the spacecraft’s robotic arm in 1984. During this flight, by the way, Catherine Sullivan became the first American woman to perform a spacewalk. It was also the first flight of two female astronauts into space together.

ERBS continued to collect atmospheric measurements until 2005. Scientists have used this data to study how the Earth absorbs and emits solar energy.