News in Brief - Satellite Threatens Earth

Bryan Belrad, Yahoo! Contributor Network
Feb 6, 2008 "Share your voice on Yahoo! websites. Start Here."

News in Brief: Everything you need to know about a hot story in 200 words or less.

A spokesman for the National Security Council announced that a disabled spy satellite's orbit has fallen into decay, and it is now a threat to Earth.

The government that brought us the Hurricane Katrina relief debacle assures us that all appropriate agencies are "looking into it".

The 10-ton spacecraft is estimated to be the size of a bus. An uncontrolled reentry could scatter metal debris, which does not combust well during reentry, across vast stretches of land area, along with hazardous chemicals.

By contrast, Skylab, an abandoned 78 ton space station, also fell out of orbit in an uncontrolled reentry. The debris showered across the Indian Ocean and much of Australia's Outback. By pure luck alone, the damage from Skylab's reentry was minimal. Though this satellite is 1/8^th the mass, there is no telling where it might land when if finally does return to Earth.

Suffering from budget cuts and more restrictions than ever on space shuttle missions, NASA has no chance of launching a mission to repair the satellite.

Foreign governments have been notified of the potential threat.

Published by Bryan Belrad

The mind behind Zero Sum Theory, author of best-selling fiction and non-fiction, see what else he's up to on Facebook. View profile