Dead NASA satellite returns to Earth after 38 years

A defunct NASA satellite has fallen back to Earth after 38 years orbiting the planet, reported from CNN. 

The Earth Radiation Budget Satellite, known as ERBS, was launched in 1984 aboard the space shuttle Challenger.

Until 2005, data from ERBS helped researchers investigate how Earth absorbed and radiated energy from the Sun and measured ozone, water vapour, nitrogen dioxide, and aerosol concentrations in the Earth’s stratosphere.

The US Department of Defense confirmed that ERBS reentered Earth’s atmosphere on Sunday at 11:04 p.m. ET over the Bering Sea, according to a statement from NASA.

It wasn’t immediately clear whether parts of the satellite survived re-entry. Most of the satellite was expected to burn up as it moved through the atmosphere. NASA had calculated that the risk of harm coming to anyone on Earth was very low – approximately 1 in 9,400.

The satellite far exceeded its expected two-year life span, operating for a total of 21 years.

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