A 660-pound satellite fell to Earth over the Sahara in the early morning hours of Thursday. NASA’s retired spacecraft reentered Earth's atmosphere Wednesday around 8:21 p.m. EDT.
“Re-entry occurred over the Sahara Desert region, at approximately 26 degrees longitude and 21.3 degrees latitude, according to the Department of Defense," NASA told the Washington Examiner."NASA expected most of the spacecraft to burn up as it traveled through the atmosphere, but for some components to survive re-entry.”RHESSI launched in 2002 and remained in orbit for 21 years before a communication problem in 2018 caused the spacecraft to be decommissioned.
The satellite's mission was to collect vital imagery of high-energy electrons to provide new information for researchers to study the energy released in solar flares.RHESSI captured 100,000 X-ray events and provided groundbreaking data of solar flares, taking the first ever recorded gamma ray images and high-energy X-ray images of the solar phenomena.
“At this time, NASA has not received any reports of any damage or harm associated with the re-entry,” the statement read.
Brasil Últimas Notícias, Brasil Manchetes
Similar News:Você também pode ler notícias semelhantes a esta que coletamos de outras fontes de notícias.
660-pound NASA satellite falling to Earth tonight: Is there risk of danger?NASA said that the reentry location is not being disclosed, given lingering uncertainty over when and where it might go down.
Consulte Mais informação »
Dead NASA satellite crashes to Earth over the Sahara DesertThe 660-pound RHESSI spacecraft came down on Wednesday night (April 19).
Consulte Mais informação »
Dead NASA satellite plunges toward Earth over Sahara Desert“The risk of harm coming to anyone on Earth is low — approximately 1 in 2,467,” the agency said in a statement ahead of the craft’s plummet to the surface.
Consulte Mais informação »
Old NASA satellite plunges to Earth over Sahara DesertAn old NASA satellite that studied the sun has plunged back to Earth.
Consulte Mais informação »