Old NASA satellite safely falls from the sky off coast of Alaska
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Cape Canaveral: A retired NASA science satellite that had spent almost 40 years orbiting the planet, fell harmlessly through the atmosphere off the coast of Alaska on Monday, according to NASA.
The satellite, which was put into orbit in 1984 by astronaut Sally Ride, reentered late Sunday night over the Bering Sea, a few hundred miles from Alaska, according to the Defense Department. No reports of injuries or property damage as a result of falling debris, according to NASA, Associated Press reported.
NASA announced late last week that it anticipated the majority of the Earth Radiation Budget Satellite's 5,400 pounds (2,450 kilogrammes) to burn up in the atmosphere, but that some components might survive. The likelihood of being hurt by falling debris, according to the space agency, is 1 in 9,400.
The first American woman in space launched the satellite into orbit using the space shuttle Challenger. Before being deactivated in 2005, well past the intended end of its operational life, the satellite measured ozone in the atmosphere and investigated how Earth absorbed and radiated energy from the sun.
