Six-tonne satellite to fall from orbit

London: A six-tonne satellite, launched in 1991 and which completed its mission in 2005, will now fall out of orbit. Its debris would possibly spread over large parts of Britain, Europe, North and South America and Asia, NASA has said.

The $750 million Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS), launched to study climate change, will fall in a few weeks, The Telegraph reported.

Though NASA said the risk to public safety from the satellite was "extremely small", officials are concerned about the risk to billions of people when the satellite starts falling uncontrolled out of orbit.

A major chunk of the satellite will burn up after entering Earth's atmosphere, but more than half a tonne of metal will survive, NASA said.

While NASA did not know the exact areas it will fall, the projected danger zone has been narrowed to areas between 57 degrees north and 57 degrees south of the Equator.

These areas cover six continents and billions of people and three oceans.

Gene Stansbery, NASA's orbital debris chief said: "Things have been re-entering ever since the dawn of the space age. To date nobody has been injured by anything that's re-entered. That doesn't mean we're not concerned."

The satellite, launched by space shuttle Discovery in 1991, is 35 feet long, 15 feet in diameter, weighs 13,000 pounds, and carries 10 instruments. It was designed to operate for three years but six of its 10 instruments are still working. It ran out of fuel in 2005.

Home | Top of the Page

Top Stories

Delhi blast: One more e-mail but case still a mystery

Amid conflicting claims on which outfit plotted Wednesday's Delhi High Court bombing, investigators, battling for conclusive leads to crack the case, Friday arrested  »

HuJI e-mail sender arrested

Now 'Indian Muzahiddin' email claims Delhi blast

Third email owns up to Delhi blast

  Most Read

The torture wasn’t limited to those arrested; the police used every trick in the book to make their victims ‘confess’. Family members were also subjected to torture. Ataur Rahman, in his mid-60s, lived in Mumbai with  »

Muslim paper takes up Hindu cause, furthers oneness

Don't kill cows and don't eat beef - that's the message of harmony a Muslim editor in Uttar Pradesh has been sending out to the community since 1998 when he began a newspaper to bridge divides in the communally sensitive state. The Daastaan-e-Awadh, which used to be in Urdu but is   »

  News Pick

India, Bangladesh deal will bring prosperity: Meghalaya CM

Meghalaya has lost 41 acres of land as India and Bangladesh have  »

Assam protests India-Bangladesh land exchange

"We all know, of course, that our region is among the least economically integrated in the world; there are adequate studies that offer statistics in this regard," External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna said  »

US to veto Palestinian bid for statehood at UN

Washington will veto any Palestinian effort to seek a statehood at the UN Security Council (UNSC), said the US government Thursday.  »

Palestinian official hits out at US policy on UN bid

Picture of the Day

The 27th of Ramadan (August 26, 2011 this year), "Laylet al-Qadr" (Night of Power), is one of the holiest nights of the Islamic calendar, the night when the Quran began to be revealed to the Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him). Millions from around the world visit the Grand Mosque in Makkah from all over the world and pray over the night.