The satellite hurtling to earth is going to hit where now?
By kris182_2000
@kris182_2000 (5453)
Canada
September 21, 2011 7:44pm CST
I was driving home earlier and heard on the radio about the satellite that's hurtling to earth right now.
According to the news broadcast, it will hit any time after tomorrow.
What makes me wonder is about where they're saying it's going to hit.
According to the website Space.com, it's not supposed to hit anywhere in North America, yet they contradict themselves by saying that it could hit anywhere from northern Canada to South America.
I had heard on the radio that it was supposed to hit Canada. Hopefully it lands in the water, but it could still hit land.
I just read that if it hit someone or did property damage, the US government could be legally responsible for it.
Interesting to read that.
Hopefully it doesn't land on anyone. A 1 in 3200 chance of getting hit isn't really good.
We'll see what happens.
3 people like this
11 responses
@Hatley (163776)
• Garden Grove, California
22 Sep 11
hi kris that does m ake a person wonder and get a bit nervous but those odds are not too bad as there's a lot more water then land on the earth. I am with you I just hope it doesn't land on a home or a large building like Gold C rest here lol. Not much we can do just wait and see I imagine. There are a hundred people here and the
building is at least forty or fifty years old. lol I hope it clears land and drops into one of our many oceans on the north american continent.
1 person likes this
@GardenGerty (160696)
• United States
24 Sep 11
They are tracking it, but it "has been delayed" I am not sure of by what, and it is to break into about twenty six pieces. We used to be told that debris falling from space would burn up in re entry, but I guess that is not true.
@YoungInLove (1254)
• Canada
23 Sep 11
I heard about this too and thought it was a joke. This actually blows my mind. I hear its supposed to be the size of a bus? I dont understand! How can the government honestly say, well I donno when it will land, where it will land, or how much it will damage or how many people it would kill, but just hang tight and wait for it to happen. Like what the hell? Are they going to monitor it and then where its supposed to land contact the people of the area? Like, what the heck is gonna happen?!?!
1 person likes this
@Adoniah (7513)
• United States
22 Sep 11
They do not have a clue yet where it is going to land...The only thing that they do know is that since the Earth is covered with more water than land, it is more likely to hit water.
As the time gets closer to it dropping into the atmosphere, they will be better able to predict its landfall. A local college which did a lot of research with this satellite is taking bets on where it will land. On the news the continents were pretty well covered with bits of papers with peoples guesses.
1 person likes this
@granite_butterfly (448)
• Canada
27 Sep 11
I heard this same story in the news. Sometimes, I swear the media mass produces hysteria among us. We have perpetual announcements about doomsday, in one form or another. If there isn't a war, there is a natural disaster. If there is not a natural disaster, there is a flu pandemic. The list goes on and on. How would we even know a real threat in today's crazy world? If we boggle our minds with all this stuff, we could probably go insane. Don't get me wrong...I don't want to get hit by a satellite, but I am not too worries. Staying tuned for the next headlines.
@1hopefulman (45120)
• Canada
22 Sep 11
First I hear of it! Hopefully it crashes where there are no inhabitants. Will all the satellites one day crash to the earth? There's no parachute? Another thing to worry about!
@kris182_2000 (5453)
• Canada
22 Sep 11
They're saying it's going to break into about 26 pieces, so there is no parachute.
One day, they may all do that, this isn't the first one to do so.
@saralee90210 (14)
• United States
22 Sep 11
I heard that also, that parts of the satellite will just fall randomly to the earth and they are not sure where the parts will land. At first I thought it was a joke. For something that cost so much money, it seems like such a shame that Nasa is just letting it break apart and crash into the earth. Hopefully no one will get hurt and no structures will be ruined.
@kris182_2000 (5453)
• Canada
22 Sep 11
There really isn't much they can do about it. It's an old satellite and these things do break down over time, even in space.
They get hit by space junk and get damaged.
With the space program shut down, there are no real options to go up and fix it, and now it's too late as it's already getting too close to earth.
@Thoroughrob (11742)
• United States
22 Sep 11
This was the first time I even heard about it. I have had the tv running all day. I hope it doesn't hit a populated area.
@GardenGerty (160696)
• United States
22 Sep 11
They added some other qualifications that make it one in millions chance that you will get hit. I would be happy for it to hit my roof, then I could get a new one. I am not outside much, and I guess I just do not worry about it.
@danishcanadian (28953)
• Canada
24 Sep 11
It seems the damn thing changes locations every day. LOL It's been on the CBC as landing in Canada, the BBC as landing in Europe, and Hubby says that he heard it was going to land in Chile, or somewhere in that vicinity. I guess we'll know where it will land when it lands, and no sooner.
@courtknee525 (3742)
• United States
22 Sep 11
My dad was telling me about this the other night and I almost started a discussion about it here lol. They have no idea where it's going to land and no way of controlling it. My mom was like "Oh, but it'd be in a bunch of little pieces so it wouldn't really be that bad". But then my dad was like "Uhh, the smallest piece would be about (I can't remember if it was 300 or 3 tons), try surviving something like that". It's scary to think that this could land anywhere. Hopefully, if someone saw it about to hit nearby, they could at least get out of the way so they don't get crushed.
