NASA awaits satellite re-entry

Associated Press

LOS ANGELES

While North America appears to be off the hook, scientists are scrambling to pinpoint exactly where and when a dead NASA climate satellite will plummet back to Earth today.

The 6-ton, bus-sized satellite is expected to break into more than a hundred pieces as it plunges through the atmosphere, most of it burning up.

But if you’re hoping for a glimpse, the odds are slim. Most sightings occur by chance because the re-entry path can’t be predicted early enough to alert people, said Canadian Ted Molczan, who tracks satellites for a hobby.

The best guess so far is that the 20-year-old Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite will hit sometime this afternoon Eastern time. The latest calculations indicate that it will not be over the United States, Canada and Mexico during that time.