Piece of satellite could fall on Sweden

UARS Satellite and its parts are falling to earth. Photo: Scanpix.

Sweden could be hit by pieces of a 20-year-old NASA satellite expected to hit the earth tonight Friday. But the risk is still small, reports Swedish Radio News.

The satellite was used for research on the ozone layer until 2005. It’s the size of a small bus and weighs six tonnes. However, only about 500 kilos of it is expected to reach the ground, or, as NASA hoped for, the sea. The risk zone in Sweden is from Goteborg and south.

Olle Norberg, director general of the Swedish National Space Board, told Swedish Radio News that friction from the satellite colliding with the atmosphere is so great that a large portion of the satellite will burn up. “It’s like a very long, drawn out falling star that will burn and glow for several minutes.”

Norberg said because a larger portion of the earth is made up of ocean and uninhabited areas, the risk that anyone could be harmed is relatively small.

(Source : Radio Sweden)