This weekend, an old NASA satellite will fall from the sky.

 According to NASA, the majority of the 2,450 kilogramme (5,400 pounds) satellite will burn up during reentry. However, certain components should survive.

By AP NEWS AGENCY 

UPDATED: jan 08, 2023 11:58 IST

A 38-year-old NASA satellite that has been decommissioned is poised to hit the ground. The likelihood of wreckage landing on someone, according to NASA, is "extremely minimal." According to NASA, the majority of the 2,450 kilogramme (5,400 pounds) satellite will burn up during reentry. However, certain components should survive. According to the space agency, there is a 1-in-9,400 chance of being hurt by falling debris.

The Defense Department predicts that the scientific satellite will come down Sunday night, give or take 17 hours. The Aerospace Corp., located in California, is aiming for Monday morning, give or take 13 hours, following a trajectory that crosses across Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and the westernmost regions of North and South America.

Aboard the space shuttle Challenger, the Earth Radiation Budget Satellite, or ERBS, was launched in 1984. The satellite continued to measure ozone and other atmospheric variables despite having a two-year expected working life. It was retired in 2005. The satellite observed how the planet's surface emitted and absorbed solar radiation.

Challenger gave the satellite a ceremonial sendoff. Sally Ride, the nation's first woman in space, used the shuttle's robot arm to launch the satellite into orbit. Kathryn Sullivan made history on that same trip by being the first American woman to walk in space. Two female astronauts travelled in orbit together for the first time ever. Ride, who passed away in 2012, flew into space for the second and last time.