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Falling satellite slows down, Earth strike delayed


CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — A 6-ton NASA satellite on a collision course with Earth clung to space Friday, apparently flipping position in its ever-lower orbit and stalling its death plunge.

The old research spacecraft was targeted to crash through the atmosphere sometime Friday night or early Saturday, putting the U.S. back in the potential crosshairs, although most of the satellite should burn up during re-entry.

"It just doesn't want to come down," said Jonathan McDowell of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.

McDowell said the satellite's delayed demise demonstrates how unreliable predictions can be. That said, "the best guess is that it will still splash in the ocean, just because there's more ocean out there."

Until Friday, increased solar activity was causing the atmosphere to expand and the 35-foot, bus-size satellite to free fall more quickly. But late Friday morning, NASA said the sun was no longer the major factor in the rate of descent and that the satellite's position, shape or both had changed by the time it slipped down to a 100-mile orbit."In the last 24 hours, something has happened to the spacecraft," said NASA orbital debris scientist Mark Matney.

NASA cautioned there was now a slim chance any surviving debris would land in the United States. Earlier this week, the space agency said North America would be in the clear.
Full article here

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ORIGINAL: zephyroftheNorth

Kinda makes me think of Dead Like Me only with a satellite.

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ORIGINAL: zephyroftheNorth

I pity the poor fuck who's in the path of that thing.

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ORIGINAL: slvemike4u

Totally irrational but I'm going to root for it to come down right on sanity.....not counting on it,just hoping[:)]

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ORIGINAL: Aneirin

h,mm think of all the precious metals that might be there, if a chunk fell on my property, I 'd drag it under cover and say nothing.

As to it being the property of the US government, well if they cared that much about it, why didn't they go up there and get it, instead of allowing it to risk the life and limb of others not concerned.

But the odds that sanity quoted, they are lower odds than someone winning our national lottery, yet people win that nearly every week.

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ORIGINAL: Termyn8or

"It better not fall on my property."

Or else what ? There has to be an or else something.

T^T

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ORIGINAL: pahunkboy

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ORIGINAL: Aneirin

h,mm think of all the precious metals that might be there, if a chunk fell on my property, I 'd drag it under cover and say nothing.

As to it being the property of the US government, well if they cared that much about it, why didn't they go up there and get it, instead of allowing it to risk the life and limb of others not concerned.

But the odds that sanity quoted, they are lower odds than someone winning our national lottery, yet people win that nearly every week.

More like hazzardous waste.

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ORIGINAL: Aneirin

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ORIGINAL: pahunkboy

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ORIGINAL: Aneirin

h,mm think of all the precious metals that might be there, if a chunk fell on my property, I 'd drag it under cover and say nothing.

As to it being the property of the US government, well if they cared that much about it, why didn't they go up there and get it, instead of allowing it to risk the life and limb of others not concerned.

But the odds that sanity quoted, they are lower odds than someone winning our national lottery, yet people win that nearly every week.

More like hazzardous waste.

Where there's muck, there's brass, never forget that, ebay is not the only sales outlet