Retired Spacecraft’s Re-entry Into Earth’s Atmosphere Poses Little Risk to Humans – NASA

NASA has revealed that a retired spacecraft is hurtling toward Earth, saying the risk it poses to people on the ground is minimal.

It has been 20 years since the Reuven Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager (RHESSI) spacecraft launched. And NASA expects it to re-enter the Earth’s atmosphere.

According to the Department of Defense, the 660-pound unused spacecraft will return to Earth at approximately 9:30 p.m. EST on Wednesday, April 19. But the DOD expects an uncertainty window of +/- 16 hours.

The chance of casualties in this event is 1 in 2,467. NASA said most of the spacecraft is expected to burn up as it descends toward Earth.

The RHESSI Spacecraft

The spacecraft was first launched in 2002 and was responsible for monitoring powerful coronal mass ejections in low orbit above the Earth and solar flares until 2018. This data helped scientists better understand how the sun emits massive bursts of energy.

Before its decommissioning in 2018, the RHESSI spacecraft captured above 100,000 X-ray events.

There's a spacecraft cemetery in the Pacific Ocean pic.twitter.com/pAKdJBtksB

— Insider Tech (@TechInsider) January 8, 2018

The space agency said, “Over the years, RHESSI documented the colossal range in solar flare size, from tiny nanoflares to massive superflares tens of thousands of times more extensive and more explosive.

“RHESSI even made discoveries unrelated to flares, such as improving measurements of the Sun’s shape and showing that terrestrial gamma-ray flashes—bursts of gamma rays emitted from high in Earth’s atmosphere over lightning storms—are more common than previously thought,” NASA added.

What Can We Learn from This?

The RHESSI was run by one of NASA’s flight stations in Greenbelt, Maryland. After operating for almost 16 years, the spacecraft became inactive due to communication difficulties in 2018.

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The RHESSI incident serves as a reminder of the importance of responsible space exploration and management. Planning for the safe disposal of spacecraft is critical at the end of their useful life.

Conclusion

The news of a retired spacecraft hurtling toward Earth may seem alarming, but NASA has assured the public the risk of harm is minimal. NASA and its international partners closely monitor the situation and provide updates as necessary.