Here we go again, this time it’s the German’s turn to randomly drop [expletive deleted] from orbit.
Falling German Satellite Poses 1-in-2,000 Risk of Striking Someone This Month
A big German satellite near the end of life is expected to plunge back to Earth this month, just weeks after a NASA satellite fell from orbit, and where this latest piece of space junk will hit is a mystery.
The 2.4-ton spacecraft, Germany’s Roentgen Satellite (ROSAT), is expected to fall Oct. 22 or 23.
The satellite will break up into fragments, some of which will disintegrate due to intense re-entry heat. But studies predict that about 1.6 tons of satellite leftovers could reach the Earth’s surface. That’s nearly half ROSAT’s entire mass.
There is a 1-in-2,000 chance that debris from the satellite could hit someone on Earth, though the likelihood of an injury is extremely remote, German space officials say. For German citizens, the risk of being struck is much lower, about 1 in 700,000.
All areas under the orbit of ROSAT, which extends to 53 degrees northern and southern latitude, could be in the strike zone of the satellite’s re-entry.
See also:
Falling ROSAT satellite to make reentry between Oct. 21 – 25
German satellite to plunge back to Earth
Huge German Space Junk Satellite To Fall To Earth Sooner Than Expected
Dead German satellite to fall on earth
Massive German satellite will fall to Earth this week
Duck and cover: ROSAT is the next re-entry
Reminder: ROSAT’s coming down soon
ROSAT expected to fall to Earth sometime this week, scientists say
German satellite set to fall to Earth
Not NASA but German Satellite will fall to Earth this weekend
Last chance to see doomed German satellite in night sky
Falling German Satellite Has a 1-in-2,000 Chance of Hitting Somebody
Track Germany’s Falling, 2.4-Ton Satellite in Real-Time
The ROSAT Mission
ROSAT
You’d think that by now, we’d have the technology to orbit powered drones with robotic arms that could guide these massive dead satellites into a controlled deorbit.
/joking about a 1 in 2000 chance of getting hit by tons of space junk moving at terminal velocity is all fun and games until someone actually gets hurt
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