I've been watching Twitter to see if the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS) has come down yet. It's close; it'll happen before East Coast dawn. I read the following article today, that there's a bigger (and perhaps more dangerous) satellite coming down soon after it.
All of this emphasizes that satellites need a controlled re-entry or parking orbit plan to reduce the space debris problem. Were it not for the economic woes around the world, a space plan to de-orbit or up-orbit defunct satellites would seem useful.
Second big satellite set to resist re-entry burnup
"On its ROSAT website, DLR estimates that "up to 30 individual debris items with a total mass of up to 1.6 tonnes might reach the surface of the Earth. The X-ray optical system, with its mirrors and a mechanical support structure made of carbon-fibre reinforced composite – or at least a part of it – could be the heaviest single component to reach the ground."
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