NASA Not Sure Where Satellite Landed

NASA said in an online overview that pieces of a bus-sized satellite crashed to Earth over the weekend, but scientists are unsure where they are.

NASA said in an online overview that pieces of a bus-sized satellite crashed to Earth over the weekend, but scientists are unsure where they are.

The Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite, or UARS, broke up upon re-entering Earth’s atmosphere between 11:23 p.m. Friday night and 1:09 a.m. on Saturday, the space agency said on its website.

“During the re-entry period, the satellite passed from the east coast of Africa over the Indian Ocean, then the Pacific Ocean, then across northern Canada, then across the northern Atlantic Ocean, to a point over West Africa,” NASA stated. The majority of UARS’s transit was over water.

NASA added that it is likely the pieces of the satellite landed in the Pacific Ocean far away from the U.S. coast.

Around 26 satellite pieces, weighing a total of 1,200 pounds, may have survived entering the Earth’s atmosphere. There have been no reports of any injuries or property damage.

UARS was launched in 1991 and was tasked with observing chemical components of the atmosphere. It was decommissioned in 2005 and NASA began the slow process of degrading its orbit to allow it to fall back to the Earth.