"Oh My God...They Killed Kenny!"
Posted on 09/22/2011 8:08:34 AM PDT by Windflier
A NASA satellite the size of a school bus is just days away from taking a fiery plunge into Earth’s atmosphere and could set off a dazzling display when it does … if anyone is able to see it.
NASA's 6 ½-ton Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite is due to fall somewhere on Earth Friday (Sept. 23), though exactly where and when remains a mystery.
If you happened to be lucky enough to be within viewing range of a satellite that is re-entering the atmosphere, the sight, put simply, would amount to a short-lived but spectacular fireworks display. Unlike a fireball meteor, whose flight across the sky might take no more than a few seconds, a re-entering satellite’s path usually lasts much longer.
As the satellite descends to an altitude of about 50 miles (80 kilometers), friction with the atmosphere is converted to light and heat. As it moves on a relatively slow – one could almost use the adjective “majestic” – flight across the sky, what is usually seen is a long trail of light and sparks that can take on virtually every color of the rainbow.
Small chunks of the satellite may be seen to break off and trail behind the main body. (NASA expects up to 26 pieces from UARS to survive re-entry and reach the ground.) If the re-entry occurs at night, it could light up the sky with a brilliance that easily rivals the full moon. Even if it occurs during the daytime, the satellite's fiery passage across the sky could be readily seen.
(Excerpt) Read more at space.com ...
Oh, BTW...I was off by an hour on the time. The track in the screen shot is at 4:30pm Eastern, not 3:30. The time shown in the lower right hand box is my local time, which is Pacific.
Tried to do the time conversion before coffee. Doesn’t work real well. :)
"Oh My God...They Killed Kenny!"
A woman engineer designed the steering system
/ducking...
Dude...you’re gonna BURN for that one....
There is probably a 3 to 6 hour window where it could be earlier or later depending on what position it is in when it first starts to get significant drag...
Is the chart being continuously updated?
(BTW, thanks for the chart. I had searched for one but not found it)
Calm down. Just make sure you have your tin foil hat on all day tomorrow. It will protect you.
The problem is getting a handle on atmospheric density at the orbital altitude. Since they can’t do a controlled de-orbit burn the satellite is at the mercy of whatever traces of atmosphere exist at it’s current altitude. Without a way to precisely measure that at all points in the orbit, there is no way to precisely determine how much it is slowing it down until after the fact.
They can make estimates based on tracking (which is exactly what they are doing), but cannot tell exactly what part of the orbit, or even exactly which orbit it will give up the ghost and re-enter.
That plus the fact that the orbit doesn't come anywhere near the US tomorrow.
I got the track off a program called ‘Orbitron’. It was designed as freeware by a guy in Poland (of all places). Do a web search for it and you can download it yourself. It’s free and safe for your computer.
The program has a ‘Simulation mode’ where you can predict the future orbital tracks based off current data. That’s what I did by clicking through and advancing the time until tomorrow afternoon.
wish list for ‘landing’ sites..
mecca tehran pyongyang UN(sorry NY)
Thanks for that explanation, friend.
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