Nothing New Under The Sun

From the WSJ:

NASA on Friday warned there was still a small chance that remnants of a falling research satellite could end up in parts of the U.S., though scientists weren’t able to predict the precise trajectory or exactly when the space junk would reach the ground.

Scientists believe Friday is the day for a redundant NASA satellite’s plunge back to Earth. (Video: Reuters)

The difficulty of pinpointing where the parts will land highlights broader international concerns about tracking more than 20,000 pieces of orbiting space debris, some no larger than a football. Experts say the debris poses a potential threat to commercial and military satellites, as well as to the international space station.

The anticipated breakup of the defunct, 13,000-pound NASA climate satellite, set to tumble uncontrolled through the atmosphere after 20 years of operation, could result in dozens of pieces hitting the Earth by early Saturday. Most pieces are expected to burn up as they streak through the atmosphere, though experts at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration have indicated that about two dozen could survive re-entry, with the largest possibly weighing hundreds of pounds.

We’ve been here before, about 30 years ago:

No worries about it hitting the WTC, though…that bit was kind of creepy in retrospect…

Also, too:  congratulations to B^4 for having posted our 1000th comment, on the last thread!  For your prize, you get … an almost 35-year-old video clip of John Belushi.