This web page was created programmatically, to learn the article in its authentic location you may go to the hyperlink bellow:
https://www.kptv.com/2026/03/11/old-nasa-science-satellite-plunges-back-earth/
and if you wish to take away this text from our web site please contact us
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — An previous NASA science satellite plunged uncontrolled from orbit and reentered over the Pacific on Wednesday.
The U.S. Space Force mentioned the Van Allen Probe A got here in west of the Galapagos Islands.
NASA anticipated among the 1,323-pound (600-kilogram) spacecraft to outlive entry, with most of it burning up in the atmosphere. The house company put the chance of bodily hurt at 1-in-4,200.
Its twin, the Van Allen Probe B, remains to be orbiting Earth, however not functioning.
Launched in 2012, the 2 spacecraft flew by the Van Allen radiation belts that encompass Earth, learning them for seven years earlier than ceasing operation.
When the satellites ran out of gas in 2019, NASA anticipated them remaining in orbit till 2034. But the intense solar activity over the previous a number of years hastened the A probe’s demise, the house company mentioned. The B probe will not be anticipated to reenter earlier than 2030.
Dutch scientist Marco Langbroek mentioned all re-entries are tough to foretell, however this one was particularly difficult given its eccentric, lopsided orbit.
___
The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives help from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely chargeable for all content material.
Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
This web page was created programmatically, to learn the article in its authentic location you may go to the hyperlink bellow:
https://www.kptv.com/2026/03/11/old-nasa-science-satellite-plunges-back-earth/
and if you wish to take away this text from our web site please contact us
