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| This illustration provided by NASA depicts the RHESSI (Reuven Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager) solar observation satellite. The defunct science satellite will plummet through the atmosphere Wednesday night, April 19, 2023, according to NASA and the Defense Department. Experts tracking the spacecraft say chances are low it will pose any danger. Credit: NASA via AP |
An old NASA satellite is expected to fall to Earth this week, but experts
tracking the spacecraft say chances are low it will pose any danger.
The defunct science satellite known as Rhessi will plummet through the
atmosphere Wednesday night, according to NASA and the Defense Department.
NASA said Tuesday that the reentry location is not being disclosed, given
lingering uncertainty over when and where it might go down. Most of the
660-pound (300-kilogram) satellite should burn up upon return, but some
parts are expected to survive.
The space agency said in a statement the risk of anyone on Earth being
harmed by plunging satellite pieces is "low"—about 1-in-2,467.
Rhessi—short for the Reuven Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscopic
Imager—rocketed into orbit in 2002 to study the sun.
Before being shut down in 2018 because of communication problems, the
satellite observed solar flares as well as coronal mass ejections from the
sun. It captured images in high-energy X-rays and gamma rays, recording more
than 100,000 solar events.