NASA: Satellite Pieces To Hit Earth In A Week
WASHINGTON (CBS4 – The debris of a giant satellite will crash land on Earth in about a week.
The Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite, also known as UARS, is expected to fall out of the sky by the end of this week, and scientists say it will break into pieces as it gets closer to Earth.
NASA has been watching the 6-ton satellite closely. On Friday officials moved up their prediction for its arrival to Sept. 23, give or take a day.
NASA scientists have calculated the satellite will break into 26 pieces as it gets closer to Earth. The odds of it hitting someone anywhere on the planet are 1 in 3,200. The heaviest piece to hit the ground will be about 350 pounds, but no one has ever been hit by falling space junk in the past.
NASA expects to give the public more detailed information early next week. For now, all continents except Antarctica could be hit by satellite debris.
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