An old NASA satellite is expected to plummet back toward earth Wednesday night, but officials say it poses low risk of danger.
NASA and the United States Defense Department announced retiring Reuven Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager (RHESSI) spacecraft in a news release. RHESSI is predicted to reenter the Earth’s atmosphere Wednesday night around 9:40 p.m. ET, plus or minus 10 hours. Scientists say the risk of harming anyone is approximately 1 in 2,467.
BREAKING 🚨: A dead 660-pound satellite will crash back to Earth tomorrow
NASA says the risk of harm is 1 in 2,467 pic.twitter.com/db14JxYsDx
— Latest in space (@latestinspace) April 18, 2023
Most of the 21-year-old, 660-pound satellite is expected to burn up in the Earth’s atmosphere, but some parts are expected to survive. The European Space Agency (ESA) estimates approximately 130 million pieces between 0.04 inches and 0.4 inches wide are circling Earth right now. (RELATED: NASA Announces Crew For First Moon Landing In 50 Years)
Since 2002, NASA said, “RHESSI observed solar flares and coronal mass ejections from its low-Earth orbit, helping scientists understand the underlying physics of how such powerful bursts of energy are created.”
The satellite recorded over 100,000 X-ray events, documented a huge range in solar flare size, and improved measurements of the sun’s shape. RHESSI was managed and operated by Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.
RHESSI was decommissioned due to communication difficulties, according to NASA. There are 10,280 satellites still in space and 7,500 still functioning, according to the ESA.