Path of NASA Falling Satellite: UARS is Not First to Crash on Earth
NASA's falling incoming satellite UARS is not the first one to fall into Earth's orbit.
Skylab has the dubious honor of being the first American space station that fell to Earth in 1979, with debris landing into the Indian Ocean and onto parts of Australia. NASA previously made plans to re-boost the station to a higher altitude to save it. The sun's increased activity boiled the atmosphere higher than NASA expected and that led to the increase in drag on Skylab's descent path.
The space shuttle that was prepared to handle the boosting job wasn’t ready until 1981, two years after Skylar's fall. NASA made preparations to control the falling satellite and aim its final destination at the Indian Ocean. The volatile nature of the satellite gave NASA's operators trouble and that lead to Skylar's debris also landing in Australia.
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In 2003, NASA's 100-ton space shuttle Columbia laid its debris over Texas during re-entry. Columbia broke apart due to heat shield damage during the space shuttle's supposed controlled descent and landing. This accident led to the tragic death of seven astronauts who were also onboard.
Mir, a Russian space station, was still an active station when it entered orbit. Its operators used a de-orbit burn to direct its path over the South Pacific.
The UARS satellite is reported to be one the largest NASA satellites to crash back to Earth uncontrolled in more than 30 years.
In a press update given this morning, NASA stated : "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.”
The statement added: “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."
