space junk

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So Where Did Satellite Land? NASA May Never Know

Need more exact data to pinpoint where UARS and debris hit the Earth

(Newser) - NASA's just-crashed UARS satellite may have been the size of a bus and weighed 6 tons, but, because of its speed and uncertainty about the exact time it hit the Earth, scientists say they don't know exactly where their space junk crashed, reports the Chicago Tribune . "We...

Falling Satellite: NASA Says It Might Come Down Tonight or Early Tomorrow in North America
 Satellite Splashes Down 
 Over Pacific 
UPDATED
Sep 24, 2011 5:15 AM CDT

Satellite Splashes Down Over Pacific

Dead UARS craft finally comes down

(Newser) - Your luck held: NASA's dead six-ton satellite came down without apparent harm somewhere over the Pacific between 11:23pm EDT and 1:09am, the agency says . The exact spot isn't yet known, but the UARS craft likely broke up along a 500-mile path, notes AP . Most of the...

See the Satellite That Could Fall on You

Amateur astronomer Thierry Legault took the images last Thursday

(Newser) - The Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite won't hit Earth until tomorrow afternoon , but an amateur astronomer managed to capture images of it tumbling toward us last week. Thierry Legault used a camera attached to a 14-inch telescope to record UARS as it passed over northern France last Thursday, reports the...

With Satellite Set to Hit, World Uneasy

26 pieces of NASA spacecraft to likely reach Earth tomorrow

(Newser) - The 6.5-ton Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite is going to plummet to Earth tomorrow afternoon , and the fact that NASA can't say exactly where is making some people uneasy. Some 26 pieces of the satellite, ranging in size up to a few hundred pounds, are likely to survive re-entry...

5 Weird Examples of Space Junk Hitting Earth

Meanwhile, expect falling satellite next Friday

(Newser) - The 6-ton satellite about to fall on Earth is coming faster than expected, and NASA now thinks it will arrive next Friday, give or take a day, reports Space.com . NASA still isn't sure where the defunct UARS satellite will land, but it thinks the odds of it hurting...

NASA: Watch Out for Falling Satellite

Half-ton of metal on its way to Earth

(Newser) - We’ve heard that quantities of space junk are past the “tipping point” ; now NASA tells us pieces of a “dead” satellite will soon plummet to Earth. But don’t worry—there’s only a one-in-3,200 chance a chunk will hit somebody, the Telegraph reports. The Upper...

Space Junk Passes 'Tipping Point'

Report urges NASA to ramp up efforts quickly

(Newser) - Astronauts on the International Space Station had a close call with space debris in June, and things are only going to get worse from here on out, warns a new report. In fact, the amount of junk orbiting earth has now passed the "tipping point," says the National...

Space Station Will Plunge Into Pacific After 2020

Station won't be left to become space junk

(Newser) - The International Space Station's grave will be a watery one, not a cosmic one. The colossal orbiting outpost will be deliberately crashed into the Pacific Ocean when it reaches the end of its working life some time after 2020, AP reports. "It cannot be left in orbit, it'...

'Space Fence' to Track Cosmic Junk

Near misses underscore need for new system

(Newser) - As the space shuttle program draws to a close, engineers are focusing on a less glamorous phenomenon of the space age: cosmic junk. The US Air Force is working on a $3.5 billion "Space Fence" scanner to track the estimated 500,000 pieces of space debris bigger than...

NASA May Move Space Junk With Lasers

Idea isn't to destroy pieces, but to prevent more collisions

(Newser) - What to do about all that space junk floating around Earth? A team of NASA scientists has a novel way to at least help manage the mess, reports Wired : Use lasers to push pieces on collision courses away from one another. The idea is to prevent smash-ups that create even...

Coming Soon: Gas Station for Satellites

It will deliver fuel, perform repairs to keep them in orbit longer

(Newser) - What's being described by Space.com as the world's first "flying satellite gas station" is expected to launch in 2015. The Space Infrastructure Servicing vehicle, as Canada's MDA Corporation calls it, will zip around and refuel satellites to extend their lives, perform repairs, and use robotic arms to nudge...

Solar Sail to Clean Up Space Junk

'CubeSail' designed to drag orbiting debris to fiery reentry

(Newser) - British scientists have devised a way to get rid of some of the 5,000-plus tons of space trash orbiting the earth and endangering satellites and astronauts. The team's CubeSail—a plastic sail utilizing high atmospheric gases and solar radiation—is designed to drag dead rockets and satellites out of...

Mystery Object to Hurtle Past Earth Tonight


 Mystery Object to Hurtle 
 Past Earth Tonight
asteroid or space junk?
Jan 13, 2010 6:37 AM CST

Mystery Object to Hurtle Past Earth Tonight

Shows small asteroids can be detected two days before hitting earth

(Newser) - Scientists aren't sure what exactly the small object whizzing toward earth is—it could be an asteroid or space junk—but they are confident that it will narrowly miss hitting our planet. The 33-foot-wide object known as 2010 AL30 will shave past earth today at a distance of 80,000...

Approaching Debris Doesn't Stop Spacewalk

Space junk may come within 2 miles of station, shuttle

(Newser) - Two astronauts stepped out on a spacewalk to install a new tank of space-station coolant today as a large piece of orbiting junk headed their way. The old rocket part was expected to pass early tomorrow within 2 miles of the shuttle-station complex, considered a safe distance by NASA specialists....

Mystery East Coast Fireball Was a Russian Rocket

Naval Observatory 99% sure explosion was remains of Soyuz booster

(Newser) - The fireball that lit up parts of the East Coast Sunday night was almost certainly the exploding remains of a Russian rocket, a US Naval Observatory official tells Space.com. The second stage of the Soyuz rocket was slated to enter the atmosphere at the time and place the fireball...

Astros Fire Up Thrusters to Dodge Trash

Space junk becomes increasing concern

(Newser) - Discovery's astronauts fired thrusters yesterday to maneuver the million-pound International Space Station out of the path of approaching space junk, the third such threat to the orbiting lab in two weeks, reports Space.com. The four-inch chunk of debris—from a Chinese rocket that broke apart in 2000—was heading...

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