Saturday, September 24, 2011

NASA: Falling Satellite Splashed Down In Pacific

Any charred wreckage that survived the uncontrolled reentry of a defunct NASA atmospheric research satellite today almost certainly rained down on remote areas of the Pacific Ocean, officials said.

NASA's Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite reentered the atmosphere between 11:23 p.m. Friday and 1:09 a.m. today, following a ground track that passed over the eastern coast of Africa, the Indian Ocean, the Pacific Ocean, Canada and the North Atlantic Ocean and then the western edge of Africa, officials said.

However, NASA , Air Force and independent analyses by space agencies around the globe indicate any surviving debris splashed down in the Pacific Ocean west of the North American continent.

Skywatchers in the western U.S. and Canada tried to spot the satellite or debris reentering, but they saw nothing. NASA Orbital Debris Scientist Nick Johnson said the lack of any visual sightings is a key indication that any surviving debris fell into the Pacific well before the satellite's ground track passed over land.

1 comment:

lou josephs said...

Why don't we know where this went down? Does not give me warm fuzzies that we don't know this.