quote:

wxbrad Brad Panovich WCNC Okay unconfirmed reports parts of #uars might have actually landed in Canada already. 5 minutes ago

JonRHansen Jon R Hansen “@MickeySqueaks oh stop worrying. that falling space junk usually lands on Wile E. Coyote anyway” #uars 8 minutes ago

quote:

ORIGINAL: Sanity


IF it comes down over you it should make for a good show, possibly as bright as a full moon

quote:

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

NASA UARS page

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/uars/index.html

quote:

ORIGINAL: Termyn8or

A tweet. Yes tht is a totally reputable source..........

T^T

quote:

#UARS Update: Satellite confirmed to have penetrated the atmosphere over the Pacific Ocean. Precise time & location not yet known.

quote:

ORIGINAL: Sanity

quote:

ORIGINAL: zephyroftheNorth

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

The odds of any building, or one person out of the seven billion people on the planet being struck by one of these 26 pieces, are about one in 3,200. But the odds of your house, car or you being hit by a piece of the UARS satellite are drastically less – one in 21 trillion.  

quote:


AP Photo

quote:

ORIGINAL: pahunkboy

But is this fair to Canada?

quote:

ORIGINAL: Sanity


Who in the world would want to live without the benefits of the NASA space program?

quote:

ORIGINAL: pahunkboy

But is this fair to Canada?

quote:

Satellite likely in ocean, but may have hit US




WASHINGTON (AP) — It's as big as a bus and weighs 6 tons, but officials probably will never be able to pinpoint exactly where a massive NASA satellite plummeted to Earth.

NASA space junk scientists believe that all — or nearly all — of the parts of their 20-year-old dead satellite safely plunged into the Pacific Ocean, likely missing land. But if their estimates are off, by only five minutes or so, fiery pieces could have fallen on parts of northwestern North America.

No injuries or damage have been reported on land, which NASA officials said was a good indication the satellite went into the ocean.

That doesn't necessarily mean it all fell into the sea. Some debris could have fallen over areas such as Portland, Oregon; Seattle; Calgary, Alberta; and Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, said Jonathan McDowell of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.


Full article here