Scientists report that this week the 2.7 ton satellite will travel through our atmosphere and plunge onto earth!! Hit the jump to read more!
Heads up – the sky is falling!
A German-made defunct satellite known as ROSAT will make its much-anticipated plunge to Earth sometime this week, scientists say.
According to SPACE.com, the re-entry into the atmosphere will be visible under the right conditions.
The 2.4-ton satellite is expected to break up into debris, with as much as 1.7 tons making it through the atmosphere to earth, scientists said.
“We don’t expect big parts to re-enter, except the mirror and the glass and ceramic parts,” DLR board chief Jan Woerner told Space.com. “Usually during re-entry, you have rather clear burning of all the elements, but glass and ceramics may survive and may come down in bigger pieces.”
No need to run for a bomb shelter: scientists say the odds of getting struck by a piece are one in 2,000.
Scientists also pointed out that it’s not even the biggest structure to tumble back to Earth this year.
“We expect public attention because it’s a satellite coming down, but in history, we have had much bigger debris fall,” Woerner said.
The German-made satellite was launched by NASA in 1990 as a joint venture between Germany, Britain and American space organizations.
It was permanently damaged in 1998, and its mission was officially ended in February of 1999.
