NASA UARS Update: Falling Satellite’s Orientation Has Changed, Cannot Rule Out Falling in the US, Another Coming Down in November

Update 9/24/2011: NASA says satellite fell over Pacific Ocean – “NASA’s dead six-ton satellite fell to Earth early Saturday morning, starting its fiery death plunge somewhere over the vast Pacific Ocean. Details were still sketchy, but the U.S. Air Force’s Joint Space Operations Center and NASA say that the bus-sized satellite first penetrated Earth’s atmosphere somewhere over the Pacific Ocean. That doesn’t necessarily mean it all fell into the sea — although most of it is believed to have burned up. There are a myriad of unconfirmed reports, including video that purportedly shows the satellite breaking up over Canada.” Read more.

Another large satellite may fall from sky in October or November – “Since its launch on 1 June 1990, friction due to Earth’s upper atmosphere has been causing the X-ray satellite ROSAT to lose altitude continuously. When the spacecraft re-enters the atmosphere, which is expected to occur in November 2011, the satellite will disintegrate and most of the fragments will burn up in the extreme heat caused by atmospheric friction.” Read more.

November event potentially more dangerous – “… Wherever the [UARS] spacecraft lands, it will give the relevant authorities valuable experience ahead of a potentially more dangerous event in early November, when the German Rosat satellite re-enters at 28,000kph. The German space agency, DLR, said up to 30 pieces of the spacecraft might survive re-entry, with a combined mass of more than one-and-a-half tonnes.” Read more.