|
正向地球袭来的美国报废卫星预计将于美国东部时间9月23日下午到达地球，但具体落地地点目前无从得知。不过美国宇航局表示，降落地点肯定不在北美。目前，美国宇航局和空军正在密切追踪这颗卫星及其毁灭轨道。科学家预计，将有26块大型碎片穿过地球大气层到达地球，降落到地面的卫星残片重量约1170镑（合532公斤）。科学家同时指出，碎片坠落范围大概为800公里，碎片击中人的几率约为三千二百分之一，但是落入城镇等人口密集地区的几率很小。美国宇航局提醒民众，如果真的看到疑似卫星碎片的物质，千万不要触碰，要及时与当地执法部门联系。 A dead NASA satellite will plummet to Earth on Friday (Sept. 23), and while the U.S. space agency doesn't know exactly where pieces of the massive spacecraft will hit, one thing is certain: North America is in the clear. NASA's Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite, or UARS, is set to make an uncontrolled re-entry into Earth's atmosphere on Friday. However, it is still too early to tell exactly where the 6.5-ton spacecraft will fall. Scientists will likely have a much better idea of where the debris will land about two hours before the impact, NASA officials said. But, NASA was able to rule out North America as being in the potential debris drop zone. "Re-entry is expected sometime during the afternoon of Sept. 23, Eastern Daylight Time," agency officials said in a statement. "The satellite will not be passing over North America during that time period. It is still too early to predict the time and location of re-entry with any more certainty, but predictions will become more refined in the next 24 to 48 hours." | 
