The American Satellite Hit The Earth Today &Nbsp; 26 Residual Fragments Totaled 500 Kilograms.

US satellites hit the earth today

Run out of fuel

There is no pie in the sky, but it is dropping a satellite.

The US "upper atmosphere research satellite", which has been scrapped, weighs 6 tons and is out of control due to fuel shortage. It is estimated that after 26 days or so, 26 residual fragments weighing 500 kg will eventually fall somewhere on the earth, and the probability of hitting the earth is about 1/3200.

The "upper atmosphere research satellite" weighed 6 tons. In 1991, it entered the orbit by the space shuttle. It served 14 years and collected a lot of data about ozone and other chemicals in the atmosphere.

NASA usually guides abandoned satellites into death orbit or falls into the ocean, but because of the lack of fuel for the "upper atmosphere research satellite", it has been unable to do so.

Despite the fact that scrapped satellites are rare to the earth, the probability of falling into the area of human gathering is also very low. But if we continue to let go of it, one day, space will become a real garbage dump. Space junk "accidents" may become commonplace.

Experts have predicted that in the next few centuries or even more, the space junk produced in our era will come to earth or collide with spacecraft. The magnitude of such accidents depends on whether we should seriously treat space junk from now on.

Space is a very valuable resource for mankind. Reducing space debris and cleaning up space junk requires politicians and scientists from all over the world to make unremitting efforts.

It is hoped that one hundred thousand years later, when our descendants look up to heaven, we will not be disturbed by the inaction of space in this era.

News analysis

Pang Zhihao, an expert on space technology in China

Satellites can crash into the earth.

Since September, the US's "upper atmosphere research satellite" has lost its control.

It is impossible to predict precisely where the heavy 6 ton monster may fall to the ground before September 23rd.

Pang Zhihao, a researcher at the China Space Technology Research Institute, told Xinhua in an exclusive interview that the trouble that the satellite crashed into the earth could have been avoided.

If enough fuel is available, the satellite will be guided to a higher orbit that is not liable to fall, or if it controls the spacecraft "graveyard" falling into the South Pacific, there will be no threat to the earth today.

The "upper atmosphere research satellite" is the first satellite launched by the US "planet Earth Mission Plan" in the 90s of last century, which aims to monitor the earth's environment with a series of satellites.

The "upper atmosphere research satellite" failed in 2005.

After the fuel was exhausted, the ground lost control of it.

Satellite threat to earth is not a case.

The European Space Agency announced in September 12th this year that its decommissioned observation satellite ERS2 has run out of its own fuel and is now accelerating down, which could also create problems in the future.

Pang Zhihao said that the countries concerned should be more scientifically planned so that each spacecraft could "listen" to find the end result.

However, Pang Zhihao said that the public should not worry too much about the satellite hitting the earth.

The main threat to the ground from the runaway satellites comes from the "hard bones" in the body.

The key components of some satellites are made of titanium and other high strength materials, and the structural design of the fuel tank is generally very strong. These components are hard to burn down when the satellite falls into the earth's atmosphere, and the remaining fragments will hit the ground.

In most cases, these fragments will fall into unmanned areas such as the sea or wilderness.

In addition, the United States and other countries now have the ability to predict the location of the crash accurately for about 2 hours before the falling land, so the people in the threatened area have time to evacuate or evade.

With the development of technology in the future, it is possible for mankind to get more ways to deal with the trouble of satellites hitting the earth.

Pang Zhihao said that researchers are trying to make spacecraft with degradable materials, so that they can easily turn into smoke when they return to the atmosphere.