CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – The Defense Department confirmed a 5,400-pound satellite had reentered late Sunday night over the Bering Sea and there were no reports of injury or damage from any falling debris. The earth satellite was put into space by the first female astronaut, Sally Ride in 1984.
Sunday evening the enormous 2 1/2 ton spacecraft fell into the ocean after forty years of orbit around the Earth. It struck safely without causing any harm when it plummeted through our atmosphere near Alaska’s coastline.
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NASA predicted much of it would disintegrate during descent, but a few fragments may have remained intact and posed a minimal risk for anyone below - only one person in every 9,400 having chances for potential danger.
The satellite stopped working in 2005 long after its intended 2-year lifespan which included many accomplishments. It studied how the planet absorbs and gives off the energy from the sun. It detected the level of ozone was significantly decreasing and lead to the ban of ozone-destroying chlorofluorocarbons within the conventions of the Montreal Protocol.
In the decades following its use, the orbit has been falling slowly to Earth. Most debris burns up in the atmosphere but larger pieces may survive the heated pressure of the dense lower levels of the atmosphere and reach the surface. The odds of space dump over land are lower since 70 percent of the planted is covered by oceans.