One-Ton Satellite To Crash Into Earth – But Scientists Do Not Know Where

A one-
ton
satellite
is expected
to crash
down to
earth this
weekend
– but
scientists don’t know where.
The European Space Agency (ESA) says the craft,
which has been in low-Earth orbit since 2009,
has run out of fuel, ending its mission.
It is expected to disintegrate on re-entry, with
most of the fragments burning up in the
atmosphere.
But around 20% of the satellite’s mass – about
200kg – is expected to crash to earth in various
fragments and it’s impossible to predict where
they will land.
However ESA scientists say there is no need to
worry – humans are much more likely to win
the lottery than get hit by the debris.
Dr Heiner Klinkrad, head of the ESA’s Space
Debris Office said: “The risk to the population
on ground will be minute. Statistically speaking,
it is 250,000 times more probable to win the
jackpot in the German Lotto than to get hit by a
GOCE fragment.
“In 56 years of space flight, no man-made space
objects that have re-entered into Earth’s
atmosphere have ever caused injury to
humans.”
The satellite, known as the Gravity Field and
Steady-State Ocean Circulation Explorer (GOCE),
has been mapping the Earth’s gravitational
field, which is important for understanding
changing sea levels.
The craft’s orbit is decaying rapidly. It is
expected to reach an altitude of 80km above the
earth’s surface on Sunday night, at which point
it will begin to disintegrate.