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The U.S. Division of Defenses says a useless NASA 600-pound satellite tv for pc will hurtle again into the Earth’s ambiance on Wednesday night time.

The Reuven Ramaty Excessive Vitality Photo voltaic Spectroscopic Imager (RHESSI) has been floating in area for over 20 years, observing and recording greater than 100,000 photo voltaic occasions. But it surely was decommissioned in 2018.

NASA and the Dept of Protection predict it would crash into Earth in just a few hours, however the possibilities of it hitting “anybody on Earth is low” with odds about 1 in 2,467. mentioned a spokesperson for NASA.

Earlier at the moment, officers in Kyiv speculated the satellite tv for pc might have fallen on their metropolis after a mysterious flash lit up the skies over the Ukrainian capital. However NASA instructed the BBC the satellite tv for pc had not reached Earth but.

Why is the satellite tv for pc crashing to Earth?

Useless satellites do not journey quick sufficient to go previous the curve of the planet earlier than being pulled all the way down to the floor. When gravity takes over, it causes the satellite tv for pc falls to Earth.

Smaller satellites, comparable to RHESSI, will usually dissipate within the ambiance as they descend. However some components can nonetheless stay intact and strike Earth.

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