World News | Old NASA satellite fell from the sky this weekend, low threat

CAPE CANAVERAL, Jan. 7 (AP) — A 38-year-old retired NASA satellite is about to fall from the sky.

NASA said Friday that the chances of the wreckage falling on anyone is “very low.” Most of the 5,400-pound (2,450-kilogram) satellite will burn up during re-entry, according to NASA. But some pieces are expected to survive.

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The space agency has about a 1 in 9,400 chance of inflicting damage from falling debris.

The science satellite is expected to land Sunday night, which will take about 17 hours, according to the Defense Department.

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However, the California-based aerospace company is aiming for Monday morning, plus or minus 13 hours, to follow an orbit that traverses Africa, Asia, the Middle East and the westernmost regions of North and South America.

The Earth Radiation Budget Satellite, known as ERBS, was launched in 1984 by the Space Shuttle Challenger. Although it had an expected operational life of two years, the satellite continued to make ozone and other atmospheric measurements until it was decommissioned in 2005. The satellite studies how the Earth absorbs and radiates energy from the sun.

The satellite got a special launch from Challenger. Sally Ride, the first American woman in space, used the space shuttle’s robotic arm to launch a satellite into orbit. The same mission also included the first spacewalk by an American woman, Kathryn Sullivan. This is the first time two female astronauts have flown together in space.

This was Ryder’s second and final spaceflight, and he died in 2012. (Associated Press)

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