NASA scientists recently reported that the old satellite might fall on the Earth, so people are worried about its fall. However, the spacecraft experts reported that the chances would be low to pose any dangerous risks due to this satellite’s fall on Earth.
RHESSI Satellite is Expected To Fall
The defunct science satellite known as RHESSI fell to Earth on Wednesday night, based on a NASA report and the Defense Department. According to the NASA report, the reentry location of this satellite is unpredictable, and thus comes the uncertainty of where and when the satellite may get down.
The weight of this RHESSI Satellite is 660 pounds or 330 Kilograms. Based on their report, the satellite would burn up while returning to the ground, but some of its parts will survive to return to Earth.
About RHESSI Satellite
RHESSI satellite stands for Reuven Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager. The US space agency launched this RHESSI in 2002 to observe the Sun and its coronal mass ejections. It helped scientists get an idea about the powerful bursts of energy produced. It is retiring from its work and reentering the Earth this month, almost 20 years after launching it.
However, in 2018, NASA deactivated the same satellite after 16 years when they encountered communication difficulties. But they used the vital clues provided by RHESSI about solar flares and their coronal mass ejections. Such clues helped researchers know about the release of energy equivalent to billions of megatons. So far, RHESSI has monitored and recorded more than 100,000 X-ray events and helped researchers to make a study about energy particles.
Furthermore, the images captured by the RHESSI helped researchers to find out the particles’
- Frequency
- Location
- Movement
Over the years of its mission, the satellite recorded the different ranges in solar flare sizes, from small nanoflares to big superflares (tens of thousands of times nanoflares). Furthermore, RHESSI made unrelated discoveries like the Sun’s different measurements of shapes. Additionally, it discovered terrestrial gamma-ray flashes. It means the bursts of gamma rays that are coming out from highs.
Though the satellite provided much help for researchers, a communication issue occurred. Thus, in 2018, the space agency shut down its mission.
The space agency gave a statement related to the risk involved with satellites while reaching the Earth’s atmosphere. Moreover, it is clear that the risk factor is very low, and the risk of any person on the surface getting harmed by the satellite pieces is considerably low. Also, it is just about one in 2,467, according to their research.
Thus, humans can feel safe about this satellite reentering the Earth with zero to low-risk dangers, according to the US Space Agency report.
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