Update #15Sat, 24 Sep 2011 07:46:42 GMT
NASA’s decommissioned Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite fell back to Earth between 11:23 p.m. EDT Friday, Sept. 23 and 1:09 a.m. EDT Sept. 24. The Joint Space Operations Center at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California said the satellite penetrated the atmosphere over the Pacific Ocean. The precise re-entry time and location are not yet known with certainty.
Update #14Sat, 24 Sep 2011 07:16:50 GMT
NASA’s decommissioned Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite fell back to Earth between 11:23 p.m. EDT Friday, Sept. 23 and 1:09 a.m. EDT Sept. 24. The satellite was passing eastward over Canada and Africa as well as vast portions of the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian oceans during that period. The precise re-entry time and location are not yet known with certainty.
Update #13Sat, 24 Sep 2011 04:55:17 GMT
As of 10:30 p.m. EDT on Sept. 23, 2011, the orbit of UARS was 85 miles by 90 miles (135 km by 140 km). Re-entry was expected between 11:45 p.m. Friday, Sept. 23, and 12:45 a.m., Sept. 24, Eastern Daylight Time (3:45 a.m. to 4:45 a.m. GMT). During that time period, the satellite was passing over Canada and Africa, as well as vast areas of the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian oceans. The risk to public safety was very remote. NASA is working to confirm the re-entry location and time and will provide an update shortly.
Update #12Sat, 24 Sep 2011 02:50:07 GMT
As of 10:30 p.m. EDT on Sept. 23, 2011, the orbit of UARS was 85 miles by 90 miles (135 km by 140 km). Re-entry is expected between 11:45 p.m. Friday, Sept. 23, and 12:45 a.m., Sept. 24, Eastern Daylight Time (3:45 a.m. to 4:45 a.m. GMT). During that time period, the satellite will be passing over Canada and Africa, as well as vast areas of the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian oceans. The risk to public safety is very remote.
Update #11Fri, 23 Sep 2011 23:30:46 GMT
As of 7 p.m. EDT on Sept. 23, 2011, the orbit of UARS was 90 miles by 95 miles (145 km by 150 km). Re-entry is expected between 11 p.m. Friday, Sept. 23, and 3 a.m., Sept. 24, Eastern Daylight Time (3 a.m. to 7 a.m. GMT). During that time period, the satellite will be passing over Canada, Africa and Australia, as well as vast areas of the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian oceans. The risk to public safety is very remote.
Update #10Fri, 23 Sep 2011 14:45:08 GMT
As of 10:30 a.m. EDT on Sept. 23, 2011, the orbit of UARS was 100 miles by 105 miles (160 km by 170 km). Re-entry is expected late Friday, Sept. 23, or early Saturday, Sept. 24, Eastern Daylight Time. Solar activity is no longer the major factor in the satellite’s rate of descent. The satellite’s orientation or configuration apparently has changed, and that is now slowing its descent. There is a low probability any debris that survives re-entry will land in the United States, but the possibility cannot be discounted because of this changing rate of descent. It is still too early to predict the time and location of re-entry with any certainty, but predictions will become more refined in the next 12 to 18 hours.
UPDATE #9 Thursday, September 22, 2011 10:01 PM EDT
As of 9:30 p.m. EDT Sept. 22, 2011, the orbit of UARS was 110 mi by 115 mi (175 km by 185 km). Re-entry is possible sometime during the afternoon or early evening of Sept. 23, Eastern Daylight Time. The satellite will not be passing over North America during that time period. It is still too early to predict the time and location of re-entry with any more certainty, but predictions will become more refined in the next 24 hours.
UPDATE #8 Thursday, September 22, 2011 07:44 AM EDT
You can receive UARS Mission Updates via RSS
Today's forecast has the satellite making a fiery final fall on Friday, plus or minus one day. An estimated two dozen pieces of debris, including a roughly 300-pound (150-kilogram) chunk, could rain down anywhere in latitude between northern Canada and the tip of South America. NASA can't be more precise than that right now because there's no way to control the satellite's descent.
That makes the situation sound a bit scarier than it really is: Because our planet has so many empty expanses of land and sea, NASA's orbital debris experts say there's just a 1-in-3,200 chance that any of the debris will hit anybody. That translates to a 1-in-21 trillion chance that any one particular person (you, for instance) would be struck. As it gets closer to re-entry time, NASA expects that the predictions for the debris zone will get more precise.
For updates, check NASA's UARS status page and back to this post / blog. Today's story focuses on how prepared the Federal Emergency Management Agency is in case the satellite re-enters over U.S. territory. Feel free to discuss the satellite's imminent fall in the comment section below — but whatever you do, DON'T PANIC!
Video of a pass of UARS satellite 8/9 days before atmospheric reentry, at an altitude of only 250km, taken from the ground with a 14" telescope.
More info on http://legault.perso.sfr.fr/uars_110915.htmlhttp://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/uars/index.html http://www.nasa.gov/rss/uars_update.xml
NASA’s decommissioned Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite fell back to Earth between 11:23 p.m. EDT Friday, Sept. 23 and 1:09 a.m. EDT Sept. 24. The Joint Space Operations Center at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California said the satellite penetrated the atmosphere over the Pacific Ocean. The precise re-entry time and location are not yet known with certainty.
Update #14Sat, 24 Sep 2011 07:16:50 GMT
NASA’s decommissioned Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite fell back to Earth between 11:23 p.m. EDT Friday, Sept. 23 and 1:09 a.m. EDT Sept. 24. The satellite was passing eastward over Canada and Africa as well as vast portions of the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian oceans during that period. The precise re-entry time and location are not yet known with certainty.
Update #13Sat, 24 Sep 2011 04:55:17 GMT
As of 10:30 p.m. EDT on Sept. 23, 2011, the orbit of UARS was 85 miles by 90 miles (135 km by 140 km). Re-entry was expected between 11:45 p.m. Friday, Sept. 23, and 12:45 a.m., Sept. 24, Eastern Daylight Time (3:45 a.m. to 4:45 a.m. GMT). During that time period, the satellite was passing over Canada and Africa, as well as vast areas of the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian oceans. The risk to public safety was very remote. NASA is working to confirm the re-entry location and time and will provide an update shortly.
Update #12Sat, 24 Sep 2011 02:50:07 GMT
As of 10:30 p.m. EDT on Sept. 23, 2011, the orbit of UARS was 85 miles by 90 miles (135 km by 140 km). Re-entry is expected between 11:45 p.m. Friday, Sept. 23, and 12:45 a.m., Sept. 24, Eastern Daylight Time (3:45 a.m. to 4:45 a.m. GMT). During that time period, the satellite will be passing over Canada and Africa, as well as vast areas of the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian oceans. The risk to public safety is very remote.
Update #11Fri, 23 Sep 2011 23:30:46 GMT
As of 7 p.m. EDT on Sept. 23, 2011, the orbit of UARS was 90 miles by 95 miles (145 km by 150 km). Re-entry is expected between 11 p.m. Friday, Sept. 23, and 3 a.m., Sept. 24, Eastern Daylight Time (3 a.m. to 7 a.m. GMT). During that time period, the satellite will be passing over Canada, Africa and Australia, as well as vast areas of the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian oceans. The risk to public safety is very remote.
Update #10Fri, 23 Sep 2011 14:45:08 GMT
As of 10:30 a.m. EDT on Sept. 23, 2011, the orbit of UARS was 100 miles by 105 miles (160 km by 170 km). Re-entry is expected late Friday, Sept. 23, or early Saturday, Sept. 24, Eastern Daylight Time. Solar activity is no longer the major factor in the satellite’s rate of descent. The satellite’s orientation or configuration apparently has changed, and that is now slowing its descent. There is a low probability any debris that survives re-entry will land in the United States, but the possibility cannot be discounted because of this changing rate of descent. It is still too early to predict the time and location of re-entry with any certainty, but predictions will become more refined in the next 12 to 18 hours.
UPDATE #9 Thursday, September 22, 2011 10:01 PM EDT
As of 9:30 p.m. EDT Sept. 22, 2011, the orbit of UARS was 110 mi by 115 mi (175 km by 185 km). Re-entry is possible sometime during the afternoon or early evening of Sept. 23, Eastern Daylight Time. The satellite will not be passing over North America during that time period. It is still too early to predict the time and location of re-entry with any more certainty, but predictions will become more refined in the next 24 hours.
UPDATE #8 Thursday, September 22, 2011 07:44 AM EDT
You can receive UARS Mission Updates via RSS
As of 7 a.m. EDT Sept. 22, 2011, the orbit of UARS was 115 mi by 120 mi (185 km by 195 km). Re-entry is expected sometime during the afternoon of Sept. 23, Eastern Daylight Time. The satellite will not be passing over North America during that time period. It is still too early to predict the time and location of re-entry with any more certainty, but predictions will become more refined in the next 24 to 36 hours.Veteran French astrophotographer Thierry Legault has already seen it, using a 14-inch telescope. The ghostly video clip above shows the UARS satellite tumbling at an altitude of 155 miles (250 kilometers) on Sept. 15.
Today's forecast has the satellite making a fiery final fall on Friday, plus or minus one day. An estimated two dozen pieces of debris, including a roughly 300-pound (150-kilogram) chunk, could rain down anywhere in latitude between northern Canada and the tip of South America. NASA can't be more precise than that right now because there's no way to control the satellite's descent.
That makes the situation sound a bit scarier than it really is: Because our planet has so many empty expanses of land and sea, NASA's orbital debris experts say there's just a 1-in-3,200 chance that any of the debris will hit anybody. That translates to a 1-in-21 trillion chance that any one particular person (you, for instance) would be struck. As it gets closer to re-entry time, NASA expects that the predictions for the debris zone will get more precise.
For updates, check NASA's UARS status page and back to this post / blog. Today's story focuses on how prepared the Federal Emergency Management Agency is in case the satellite re-enters over U.S. territory. Feel free to discuss the satellite's imminent fall in the comment section below — but whatever you do, DON'T PANIC!
More info on http://legault.perso.sfr.fr/uars_110915.html
