An old NASA satellite is expected to crash into Earth this week, but experts say the chances of it causing any danger are slim.
The defunct spacecraft, named Rhessi, was set to plunge into the atmosphere on Wednesday night, according to NASA and the U.S. Department of Defense.
nasa The location of the re-entry was not disclosed, given the uncertainty about when and where it might descend, said Tuesday.
The 300kg satellite is supposed to burn up as it races through the upper atmosphere, but some parts are expected to fall to Earth.
The space agency said in a statement that the risk to anyone on the ground of being injured by debris from the falling satellite is “very low” — about 1 in 2,467.
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Rhessi – short for Reuven Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectral Imager – was launched into orbit in 2002 to study the sun.
The satellite observed solar flares, as well as coronal mass ejections from the sun, before shutting down in 2018 due to communication problems.
It captured images of high-energy X-rays and gamma rays, recording more than 100,000 solar events.