After the fuss that was made of UARS with all the ‘will it or won’t it’ land on someone’s head, there seems to be a lot less being said about ROSAT the German X-ray space telescope that is currently plunging back down to earth.
The date it’s expected to crash land is 23rd October 2011 but there is still a lot of uncertainties that mean the exact time and date could change still. The best guess is around noon on the 23rd.
Although the telescope isn’t as big or heavy as UARS was, it’s thought there are parts that could weigh as much as 1.7 tone and as many as 30 parts could survive re-entry.
© German Aerospace Center
Even if there are any large parts that do survive re-entry, Professor Heiner Klinkrad of the European Space Agency was quick to point out that ‘Until now in the more than 50-years of space history not a single person has been harmed [by pieces of falling satellites].’
October 18, 2011
Science & Tech