7-ton NASA satellite set to fall

reply to post by whatnext21


i do apologise. What exactly do you think the trip to Denver is then, other than campaigning that is. Why do you think it would be moved ahead. Doomongers had been lining this up with an Elenin impact so if not this what was your thinking?

Its a UFO! It's a weather balloon! Its a meteor! No-- its space junk!
I'm ready to bet someone posts on Friday that they have awesome footage of UFO with crazy colors.

In all seriousness though, its possible that its a cover up for ELENIN as it is possible it isn't. Its possible ELENIN is still there, it may have possibly disappeared. Who the hell knows, I know you don't, and you don't, and you over there can't really know for sure either. We're all eating out of the hands of others here and discussing chances of things happening. The point, stop being so rigid and acting like you know it all, because we don't.

reply to post by Cytra


all i know is that i know nothing.

elenin is gone. my head isn't throbbing anymore.

nasa is only covering their a s s. I would not be surpised if none of this satelite is spotted or makes it to the ground.


edit to add; i just posted my coment and spotted your signature as i was reading over it. so funny.

Update #5
Mon, 19 Sep 2011 09:20:32 PM GMT

As of Sept. 19, 2011, the orbit of UARS was 130 mi by 143 mi (210 km by 230 km). Re-entry is expected Sept. 23, plus or minus a day.

www.nasa.gov...

Originally posted by JohnySeagull
Update #5
Mon, 19 Sep 2011 09:20:32 PM GMT

And I'm thinking WTF, thats slightly more than 24 hours ago.
But I see they must have also realised, and just updated the page after you saw it.

Update #5
Tue, 20 Sep 2011 06:20:32 AM EST
As of Sept. 19, 2011, the orbit of UARS was 130 mi by 143 mi (210 km by 230 km). Re-entry is expected Sept. 23, plus or minus a day.

reply to post by alfa1


i'm confused. thats not showing up for me on their page?

So i have a question for someone who is educated or skilled in this area. The satellite is currently cruising at an altitude of 215.xx km. When I was watching its orbit yesterday this altitude fluctuated from 220 plus km down to 213 km. I thought it was descending at that time, then it gained altitude back to over 220 km. As it was losing altitude it was also speeding up from 7.54 km/s to 7.57 km/s.

Date: September 19,2011 Eastern Standard Time


Sample 1 Sample 2 Sample 3 Sample 4
LOCAL TIME: LOCAL TIME: LOCAL TIME: LOCAL TIME:
18:45:24 18:48:45 18:58:56 19:08:41
UTC: UTC: UTC: UTC:
22:45:24 22:48:45 22:58:56 23:08:41
LATITUDE: LATITUDE: LATITUDE: LATITUDE:
-29.72 -18.81 15.82 45.79
LONGITUDE: LONGITUDE: LONGITUDE: LONGITUDE:
-73.1 -65 -44.3 -15.65
ALTITUDE [km]: ALTITUDE [km]: ALTITUDE [km]: ALTITUDE [km]:
225.51 219.97 213.1 220.8
ALTITUDE [mi]: ALTITUDE [mi]: ALTITUDE [mi]: ALTITUDE [mi]:
140.13 136.68 132.41 137.2
SPEED [km/s]: SPEED [km/s]: SPEED [km/s]: SPEED [km/s]:
7.54 7.56 7.57 7.53
SPEED [mi/s]: SPEED [mi/s]: SPEED [mi/s]: SPEED [mi/s]:
4.69 4.7 4.7 4.68
AZIMUTH: AZIMUTH: AZIMUTH: AZIMUTH:
172.6 162.7 119.2 62.7
S SSE ESE ENE
ELEVATION: ELEVATION: ELEVATION: ELEVATION:
-35.2 -30.2 -18.3 -20.5
RA: RA: RA: RA:
19h 43m 32s 20h 43m 40s 22h 59m 23s 1h 46m 31s
DEC: DEC: DEC: DEC:
-81° 22' 40'' -72° 17' 10'' -34° 40' 8'' 4° 14' 30''

(Sorry my table did not transpose very well from excel)

This lead me to look up the shuttle and how re-entry works with it, see link:

www.bbc.co.uk...

It appears that the burn begins at around 120km above the earth, so if the satellite starts its point of no return entry:

1. Will the satellite continue to accelerate upon entry, at 7.57 km/s it is coming in at 27,000 plus km/s?

2. What will the surviving pieces be traveling at and what kind of impact crater would they leave?

3. Would a splash into water generate any rogue waves?

27,000 km/h seems pretty darn fast to me. Do I have any valid concerns here or should we all move along, nothing to see here?

reply to post by whatnext21

The orbit of the satellite is slightly eliptical, not circular.

1) The satellite will slow dramatically as it enters the atmosphere.

2) By time the time pieces hit the ground they will be falling at terminal velocity (around 100 mph or so, depending on how big and how heavy they are).

3) No.

If a big piece lands on you or your house it could ruin your day but the chance of that happening are hardly worth considering.

Update #6
Tue, 20 Sep 2011 09:00:29 PM GMT

As of Sept. 20, 2011, the orbit of UARS was 127 mi by 140 mi (205 km by 225 km). Re-entry is expected Sept. 23, plus or minus a day. It is still too early to predict the time and location of re-entry. Predictions will become more refined over the next two days.

www.nasa.gov...

I still can't get over the 1:3200 chance that parts of this may strike a human. When 75% of the earth is covered by water those are not good odds. I guess that's why FEMA is on alert.

FEMA is calling for regional emergency managers across America to be ready for the crash and will provide federal expertise to state and local governments in the event of emergencies such as a leak of toxic fuel when debris hits the ground.

reply to post by jibeho


interesting. seems a little OTT. would you have a link for that?

Originally posted by JohnySeagull
Update #6
Tue, 20 Sep 2011 09:00:29 PM GMT

And for the second time in two days, I'm not getting the same text that you're getting.


# Update #6
Wed, 21 Sep 2011 10:03:34 PM EST
As of Sept. 21, 2011, the orbit of UARS was 120 mi by 130 mi (195 km by 210 km). Re-entry is expected Sept. 23, United States time. The time reference does not mean that the satellite is expected to re-enter over the United States. It is simply a time reference. Although it is still too early to predict the time and location of re-entry, predictions of the time period are becoming more refined.

link

reply to post by JohnySeagull


Here you go. The article caught the corner of my eye for some reason.

Be it satellite re-entry, terrorist act, or natural disaster, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and its daughter agency FEMA would bring to bear the expertise and authorities of agencies across the federal government to support state and local governments.

These roles are outlined in the National Response Framework, a guide to how the nation conducts all-hazards response — from the smallest incident to the largest catastrophe.

FEMA's "consequence planning" stems from lessons learned after the 2003 Columbia shuttle disaster over Texas, an incident that provided that agency with critical insight towards planning, preparing and responding.

FEMA also revved up a satellite re-entry action plan in early 2008. The worry then focused on the out-of-control spy satellite USA-193 (also known as NROL-21) owned by the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office (NRO).

This could be a good "training opportunity" for FEMA and DHS. Who knows. I just know that I am flying on Saturday and I don't want any trouble.

news.yahoo.com...

reply to post by alfa1


wednesday is up for me now

its still middle of the night in US when i log on here. stick up any updates i might be missing.

reply to post by jibeho


thanks for the link. good piece.

i love this warning again;

"The word from NASA is direct: "If you find something you think may be a piece of UARS, do not touch it. Contact a local law enforcement official for assistance."
That's where FEMA comes in."

thats what they think. it lands in my back yard they won't get their hands on it they will have to bid for it like everybody else on ebay.

later in the article; 'Since the spacecraft isn't carrying any hazardous materials, there's little need to try and shoot it down, officials said.'

so whats with all the warnings about 'DONT TOUCH IT' .

dream on.

quotes from news.yahoo.com...

The re-entry date has been narrowed to September 23rd. While that still doesn't provide much information about where it will re-enter. It does eliminate a lot of places from the list.

As of Sept. 21, 2011, the orbit of UARS was 120 mi by 130 mi (195 km by 210 km). Re-entry is expected Sept. 23, United States time. The time reference does not mean that the satellite is expected to re-enter over the United States. It is simply a time reference. Although it is still too early to predict the time and location of re-entry, predictions of the time period are becoming more refined.

www.nasa.gov...

this is all a conspiracy for us to look up for a day

everybody keep you eyes on the ground !

Update #7
Wed, 21 Sep 2011 11:35:54 PM GMT

As of 1:30 p.m. EDT Sept. 21, 2011, the orbit of UARS was 120 mi by 130 mi (190 km by 205 km). Re-entry is expected sometime during the afternoon of Sept. 23, Eastern Daylight Time. The satellite will not be passing over North America during that time period. It is still too early to predict the time and location of re-entry with any more certainty, but predictions will become more refined in the next 24 to 48 hours.
www.nasa.gov...


North america in the clear.

Update #8 22 September 2011 12:44As of 7 a.m. EDT Sept. 22, 2011, the orbit of UARS was 115 mi by 120 mi (185 km by 195 km). Re-entry is expected sometime during the afternoon of Sept. 23, Eastern Daylight Time. The satellite will not be passing over North America during that time period. It is still too early to predict the time and location of re-entry with any more certainty, but predictions will become more refined in the next 24 to 36 hours.

www.nasa.gov...

just seen a news report on the satellite. it was finally explained why we must not touch this if we come across a piece.

the news reporter informed us ' it might be sharp!'.

i'm gonna keep well away now.

It should be interesting to see how many folks come on declaring they have a piece even after NASA tells us it fell in the ocean.