Podcasts & RSS Feeds Thu September 22, 2011 Falling Satellite To
Return Tomorrow We know a little bit more about the fate of that
falling weather satellite, the Upper Atmosphere Research
Satellite, which is close to its fiery end. NASA now predicts
the UARS will plunge into Earth's lower atmosphere "sometime
during the afternoon of Sept. 23, Eastern Daylight Time".
Although most of the UARS will burn up during the descent,
several heavy chunks of metal could survive. As you can imagine,
there's been considerable interest in whose roof could be at
risk. NASA said previously the North and South Poles won't get
debris. Today the agency included North America in the safety
zone, because "the satellite will not be passing over North
America during that time period (of reentry)." That leaves one
of the five other continents or the five sevenths of the planet
covered by water to welcome back any leftovers. NASA says the
risk to public safety is extremely small. If you'd like a closer
look at the UARS, see this amazi