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Space oddities

Tag Archives: reentry

Russian probe containing explosive and radioactive material is expected to reenter Earth’s atmosphere in January

29 Thursday Dec 2011

Posted by Lillian M. Ortiz in Phobos

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Mars, martian moon phobos, Phobos-Grunt, radioactive material, reentry, roscosmos, russian probe, uars satellite

This is the Russian probe Phobos-Grunt, a 14-ton spacecraft that will smash into Earth sometime in January. Most of the probe's explosive material is expected to burn upon reentry, however, several hundred pounds of debris is expected to survive the crash. Courtesy of NASA's National Space Science Data Center.

A nearly 14-ton spacecraft that contains a massive amount of explosive material will plunge somewhere on Earth in January.

The Russian probe Phobos-Grunt, according to Spaceflight 101, will renter Earth’s atmosphere on Jan. 13, plus or minus five days.

It is too early to tell where the object will crash, but according to Space.com, several hundred pounds of debris is expected to survive reentry and reach Earth’s surface.

The probe was expected to collect soil samples from the Martian moon Phobos and return it to Earth. Many were surprised this past November when communication with the spacecraft was lost shortly after a successful launch.

The probe has been orbiting Earth ever since, getting lower and lower until eventually, it will crash.

Now, just to bring a little perspective to the situation, let’s remind everyone that this spacecraft is much larger than the UARS satellite that crashed on Earth this past September. Remember that one? You couldn’t turn on the television or the computer without talk of the doomed satellite.

Phobos-Grunt is almost twice the size of UARS, and according to Spaceflight 101, most of its mass is made up of “toxic and explosive propellants.” The propellant was supposed to boost the spacecraft out of Earth’s orbit and straight to Phobos. We all know that didn’t happen, which means that Phobos-Grunt still has about 7.5 metric tons of unused propellant, according to Space.com.

But, don’t you worry. Many are reporting that the explosive propellants would not reach Earth’s surface, as it would burn before impact. That’s because the aluminum tanks that contain the propellant melt quickly. (Let’s hope those reports are correct!)

Besides the explosive material, there is also ‘sensitive’ issue regarding the radioactivity of one of the spacecraft’s instruments, according to a Dec. 8 letter from Lev Zelenyi, director of the Space Research Institute.

“One of the scientific instruments (Messbauer spectrometer) contains radioactive material Co-57,” Zelenyi stated. “However, the amount of Co-57 is about few (less than 10) micrograms, so that, according to our evaluations, no significant problems are is anticipated.”

We’ll have more on Phobos-Grunt, as well as some pretty interesting conspiracy theories, soon.

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UARS satellite plunging into Earth tomorrow, but when? And where?

22 Thursday Sep 2011

Posted by Lillian M. Ortiz in Earth, NASA

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atmosphere, climate, Earth, reentry, satellite, UARS

It’s 35-feet long, 3,000 pounds, and it’s crashing somewhere on Earth tomorrow.

This conceptual image shows the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite, launched on Sept. 15, 1991, by the space shuttle Discovery. Measurements from the mission helped define the role of Earth's upper atmosphere in climate and climate variability. The 35-foot-long, 15-foot-diameter UARS was decommissioned on Dec. 14, 2005. Credit: NASA

The NASA satellite UARS is expected to re-enter our atmosphere sometime tomorrow afternoon, Sept. 23, according to NASA officials. UARS, or Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite, should break up into pieces during its plunge, however, that won’t happen with all of the parts. If you happen to find a piece of the debris, don’t touch it. Contact your local law enforcement authority.

But here’s some good news for my folks in the United States: The satellite is not expected to reach us.

Here’s some bad news: The satellite is not expected to reach us.

How sad. We’ll be safe (public risk was always minimal), but we’ll miss out on the fireworks.

Objects the size of UARS re-enter Earth about once a year, according to NASA officials. Perhaps the biggest object to re-enter Earth’s atmosphere was Skylab, a 75-ton station that was unexpectedly pushed out of orbit due to high solar activity. On July 11, 1979, Skylab plunged into Earth’s atmosphere and disintegrated in western Australia and the southeastern Indian Ocean..

More time and location information for the UARS re-entry will be released within 24 to 48 hours, according to NASA officials.

Here’s some background: UARS launched into orbit in 1991. It measured ozone and chemicals compounds found in the ozone layer, winds and temperatures in the stratosphere,  and energy input from the Sun. It was decommissioned in 2005 and has been orbiting Earth ever since.

 

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