Now a "low probability" space junk to hit US

[ChandlerJr]

The orbit has "unexpectedly" decayed a little differently than projected. These must be the same guys that predict our economy.

Update #10
Fri, 23 Sep 2011 07:45:08 AM MST

As of 10:30 a.m. EDT on Sept. 23, 2011, the orbit of UARS was 100 miles by 105 miles (160 km by 170 km). Re-entry is expected late Friday, Sept. 23, or early Saturday, Sept. 24, Eastern Daylight Time. Solar activity is no longer the major factor in the satellite’s rate of descent. The satellite’s orientation or configuration apparently has changed, and that is now slowing its descent. There is a low probability any debris that survives re-entry will land in the United States, but the possibility cannot be discounted because of this changing rate of descent. It is still too early to predict the time and location of re-entry with any certainty, but predictions will become more refined in the next 12 to 18 hours.

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/uars/index.html

[denem]

1. Bookmark this: It's going to hit Australia

I remember the same re-orientation that took place to keep Skylab out of the US. Yep, Australia - big, relatively unpopulated continent, US ally, recoverable debris, - count on it

[panader0]

2. I heard on the morning news that

there is a one in 3200 chance that a peice of debris will hit a human being. A lot better odds than the lottery.

[Neurotica]

3. However, the odds of it hitting any particular person are one in 21 trillion

if I remember correctly.

My kids were really into these statistics last night!

[pintobean]

4. I'm prepared

[MineralMan]

5. Well, all I know is that I'm going to keep an ebay selling listing

window open so I can get the piece that falls in my yard on the market ASAP. There's big bucks in space junk, I'm sure, and I want to get it on it.

Yeah...that's the ticket!

[chrisa]

6. Does that mean I should man my space laser?

It will be like playing a realistic game of space invaders!

[struggle4progress]

7. It’s Safe to Go Outside: NASA Says Its Falling Satellite Will Miss the U.S.

By KENNETH CHANG
Published: September 23, 2011
Hours after it was supposed to have made a fiery plunge back to Earth, a wayward NASA satellite was still in orbit, and space experts were still uncertain when exactly it would fall ... http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/24/science/space/24satellite.html?_r=1