Space Station Trash Plunging somewhere on Earth today...

[ecstatic]

Oct. 31) - A piece of space station trash the size of a refrigerator is poised to plunge through the Earth's atmosphere late Sunday, more than a year after an astronaut tossed it overboard.

NASA and the U.S. Space Surveillance Network are tracking the object - a 1,400-pound tank of toxic ammonia coolant thrown from the International Space Station - to make sure it does not endanger people on Earth. Exactly where the tank will inevitably fall is currently unknown, though it is expected to re-enter Earth's atmosphere Sunday afternoon or later that evening, NASA officials said.

"This has got a very low likelihood that anybody will be impacted by it," said Mike Suffredini, NASA's space station program manager, in an interview. "But still, it is a large object and pieces will enter and we just need to be cautious."

NASA expects up to 15 pieces of the tank to survive the searing hot temperatures of re-entry, ranging in size from about 1.4 ounces to nearly 40 pounds.
If they reach all the way to land, the largest pieces could slam into the Earth's surface at about 100 mph (62 kph).

"If anybody found a piece of anything on the ground Monday morning, I would hope they wouldn't get too close to it," Suffredini said.

http://news.aol.com/article/space-station-trash-plunging-to-earth/234755?icid=100214839x1211880304x1200802750

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I know this is routine, but there is something a little unsettling about a 40 pound object potentially colliding into someone or something at 100mph. :shrug: I know the odds are very low... but still!

[charlie]

1. This is what an 8 1/2 lb meteorite did to a woman

after it blasted through the roof of her home:

[ColbertWatcher]

2. Damn. n/t

[charlie]

3. It was a rebound strike

Not a direct hit. Yikes.

[ColbertWatcher]

7. Double damn!! n/t

[ecstatic]

4. Which raises the question of whether NASA should continue tossing junk into space

and *hoping* everything works out OK.

[charlie]

6. If nothing else

they have to consider the safety of their own future missions. The junk is so thick up there tracking and navigating around it is an ever-worsening problem.

[ColbertWatcher]

5. I like how reassuring they try to be.

First they're tracking it, but it's 1400 pounds, oh and don't worry, they'll make sure it doesn't endanger anyone.

Oh, and it's going 100 mph.

But, it's not likely it will impact anyone.

But, if it anyone does see it Monday, don't get too close, because it's toxic.

[charlie]

8. They got lucky with Skylab

Bits of it rained on a small town in Australia, but no one was hurt. I guess they're still betting on the long odds against the stuff ever hitting anyone or anything. Shitty way to run an enterprise.

[ColbertWatcher]

13. Well, the three-fourths of the planet is covered in water, but ...

... I wouldn't feel too good knowing 1400 pounds of burning toxic waste is somewhere in the ocean.

And, of course you're right, "Shitty way to run an enterprise."

I'd like to know why the refrigerator-sized toxic canister had to be jettisoned in the first place.

[charlie]

15. Or vaporized over your happy homestead

If that stupid SDI boondoggle was more than a corporate gravy train, we would've been using the tank for target practice by now.

[ColbertWatcher]

18. But, it would be in Dumbya's hands, he'd hit a few satellites before Cheney could wing him. n/t

[charlie]

20. Lol!

Quit waving that thing around with the safety off, godammit! Holster it before you cut Monticello in half again.

[ColbertWatcher]

21. zi'm sure the first thing Dumbya would hid would be the Washington Monument. n/t

[Angleae]

10. More like 15000mph

That's about what it takes to stay in orbit.

[tkmorris]

14. Irrelevant, it won't BE in orbit

It will be falling to earth, and while it's initial velocity may be higher than 100 mph (horizontally) it's trajectory will gradually change to a more vertical one as it enters the atmosphere and it will slow down significantly due to interaction with said atmosphere. The "drag" effect caused by the inherent resistance in the atmosphere to objects falling through it results in a terminal velocity of around 130 MPH or so, depending on the objects shape.

It is entirely reasonable to expect that the objects downward speed will be just a bit over 100 mph. It's speed horizontally, relative to the Earth's surface, might remain significant at impact but that would seem to depend upon starting conditions which I am not privy to. To illustrate this point imagine an object in a geostationary orbit. It's initial horizontal velocity relative to the Earth's surface is precisely zero, by definition. Conversely, objects in higher or lower orbits have some horizontal speed.

BTW, the speed required to stay in orbit depends entirely upon the height of the orbit desired. In theory, there is a speed at which an object could orbit a perfectly spherical Earth at a height of one inch.

[charlie]

12. Sounds like some nasty stuff they're talking about

Astronauts sweat over introducing mere flakes of the stuff into the station environment.

"Whoa," Williams said, adding that the coolant did not appear to contaminate her Lopez-Alegria's spacesuit. "I am pretty positive that it didn't get in any contact with his spacesuit."

Ammonia contamination has been a concern since 2001, when a cloud of frozen ammonia flakes bloomed around NASA astronaut Robert Curbeam as he too handled ISS cooling system lines.

"At very low levels it could be an irritant," Derek Hassman, NASA's lead Expedition 14 flight director in a post-spacewalk briefing, of ammonia coolant, adding that higher levels could have more serious effects. "It can have a significant impact on the crew's respiratory function."

But unlike the 2001 incident, where contamination was known and required extreme cleanup measures, today's ammonia sighting fell under "suspected contamination" and called for only minor preventative steps, NASA officials said, adding that all tests were negative for ammonia contamination.

http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/070131_exp14_eva2wrap.html

[Journeyman]

9. Exactly *how* am I to be cautious about toxic space crap plummeting to Earth?

And forget about me getting too close to anything on the ground, I just hope something zipping down from the sky doesn't find me!

And if, by some odd quirk of fate, I "win the lottery" and get hit by this NASA trash, who will be the responsible party, NASA, or its spacetruck driver, Clayton Anderson?

[ecstatic]

11. ...without appearing to be a paranoid schizophrenic?

:shrug: :rofl:

[charlie]

17. Lol

Why are you lowrunning everywhere today?

Because regular jogging hurts my back! Now get out of my way, I need to be anywhere but here!

[wroberts189]

19. The day will come when someone dies from dumb decisions like this.

I hear ya..like you could buy an umbrella or something.

Or just use that old mine shaft in the back yard... we all must have them as the concern is so low..

Where its going to land ... we don't know .."don't worry bout it".

...don't worry....????

Look I know its stupid to think it might actually hit someone but their attitude is not comforting.

The odds are long anyone will win power ball but it happens.

[JohnnyRingo]

16. Speaking of the Space Station, here's an interactive map that show when it will pass over

..your house:
http://www.n2yo.com/?s=32960

The site should already know where you live by your IP addy.
Click in the top left corner on "ISS (Zarya)" then click on the "5 day forecasts", then read the times it will pass over your head.

The track is illustrated on the map, with the visible part in yellow.

It's quite an impressive sight, if you've never seen it before. you'll be surprised how fast it travels from horizon to horizon (17,000 mph).

I don't think it tells when space junk will fall on your head though, so sleep with a helmet.

[ColbertWatcher]

22. Thank you for this link! n/t