Daijiworld Media Network

Florida, Sep 24: A 6-ton satellite from NASA, which was on its death plunge into Earth has clung to space on Friday September 23, delaying its collision with Earth.

The spacecraft was expected to crash either late on Friday or on Saturday September 24. On Friday night, NASA said it expected the satellite to come crashing down between 11 pm and 3 am EDT. It was going to be passing over the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans at that time, as well as Canada, Africa and Australia. The areas in the potential crosshairs are Canada, Africa and Australia. The possible strike zone in the US may be the Washington State. But with its re-entry, most of the satellite would be burnt up.

The satellite is said to be apparently in a flipping position in its ever-lower orbit.

Jonathan McDowell of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics said, "It just doesn't want to come down.'' He added that the satellite's delayed demise demonstrates how unreliable predictions can be. He said that the best guess is that it will still splash in the ocean, just because there's more ocean out there.

Increased solar activity was the reason behind the expansion of the atmosphere atleast until Friday, which allowed the 35-foot (10-meter), bus-size satellite to free fall more quickly. But late on Friday morning, NASA said the sun was no longer the major factor in the rate of descent and that the satellite's position, shape or both had changed by the time it slipped down to a 100-mile (160-kilometer) orbit.

NASA orbital debris scientist Mark Matney said, "In the last 24 hours, something has happened to the spacecraft.'' 

However, NASA's statement made it very clear that the risk to public safety is very remote.

The Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS), will be the biggest NASA spacecraft to crash back to Earth, uncontrolled, since the post-Apollo 75-ton Skylab space station and the more than 10-ton Pegasus 2 satellite, both in 1979.

So far, no person has ever been hurt by the space junk neither has there been serious property damage. Space junk is a growing problem in low-Earth orbit. More than 20,000 pieces of debris, at least 4 inches (10 centimeters) in diameter, are being tracked on a daily basis. These objects pose a serious threat to the International Space Station.