It has been in orbit for almost 40 years and is now falling uncontrollably towards Earth.
NASA's scientific satellite Erbs , no longer operational, should reach the Earth's atmosphere in the night between 8 and 9 January . According to the most recent calculations available by the United States Department of Defense, the arrival is expected around 00.40 Italian time on 9 January.
The Erbs satellite (Earth Radiation Budget Satellite), weighing almost two and a half tons , should be almost completely destroyed in the impact with the atmosphere , but some fragments could still reach the ground. According to the American space agency " the risk of someone being hit is calculated at 1 in 9,400 ". Launched in 1984 with the Challenger shuttle, the device was designed to operate for two years, but its operational life was much longer. For 21 years, its instruments have collected data on the atmosphere and climate , measuring levels of ozone, water vapor and aerosols.
The satellite stopped working in 2005 , becoming one of the now very numerous space debris in Earth's orbit and is the latest in a long line of objects falling uncontrollably from space. The phenomenon has now become very common , experts estimate that similar episodes occur every one or two days.
(Unioneonline/vf)
