NASA’s 38-Year-Old Science Satellite Falls Safely to Earth
The US Department of Defense confirmed that a satellite, launched into orbit back in 1984, burned up in the atmosphere over the Bering Sea, several hundred kilometers from Alaska, late on January 8. NASA said it had received no reports of injury or damage from falling debris.
At the end of last week, NASA said that most of the Earth’s satellite, which weighs 2450 kg, will burn up in the atmosphere, but some parts may survive. NASA estimated the odds of unburned debris falling to the ground and injuring people at 1 in 9,400.
The satellite measured the ozone content in the atmosphere and studied how the Earth absorbs and emits energy from the Sun. It was launched into orbit in 1984 from the Space Shuttle Challenger by the first American woman, astronaut Sally Ride. The satellite was decommissioned in 2005 after 21 years of operation, well beyond its expected lifetime.
