Dead Satellite's Plunge - Interesting Developments

Just when they (NASA officials) thought North America will NOT be impacted by the UARS' fall to the Earth, the slowing descent and orientation may prolong re-entry long enough to get a bit closer to our neck of the woods after all.

I still think John Belushi, from Saturday Night Live, discussed falling satellites perfectly, in his skit and rant as the old Skylab satellite was poised to re-enter the earth's atmosphere...

Update #10

Fri, 23 Sep 2011 10:45:08 AM EDT

As of 10:30 a.m. EDT on Sept. 23, 2011, the orbit of UARS was 100 miles by 105 miles (160 km by 170 km). Re-entry is expected late Friday, Sept. 23, or early Saturday, Sept. 24, Eastern Daylight Time. Solar activity is no longer the major factor in the satellite’s rate of descent. The satellite’s orientation or configuration apparently has changed, and that is now slowing its descent. There is a low probability any debris that survives re-entry will land in the United States, but the possibility cannot be discounted because of this changing rate of descent. It is still too early to predict the time and location of re-entry with any certainty, but predictions will become more refined in the next 12 to 18 hours.

MS