Scientists from the German Aerospace Center (DLR) have announced thatthe ROSAT satellite, which weighs 2.4 tons, will fall to Earth over the next week, without the possibility of directing its re-entry into the atmosphere. Astronomers have not been able to communicate with the device since 1999, when it completed its last mission and shut down after a failure in its guidance system. It is speculated that it was related to a virus that entered his computer system.
ROSATIt was built jointly by Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States with the aim oflook at the stars, and was launched from Cape Canaveral in June 1990. As experts have explained, during its entry into Earth in the next few days,the satellite will break into about 30 large piecesand some of them, with a total mass of up to 1.6 tons, could survive disintegration when crossing the Earth’s atmosphere.
The ad is reminiscent of the episode that took place two weeks ago, when the satelliteUARSNASA made its re-entry into the planet in an uncontrolled way. Finally,UARSit fell in the Pacific, although at first it was speculated that it could cause damage to inhabited areas. Scientists trust that the fate ofROSATis the same as your partner’s.
On the other hand, NASA experts point out that it would be necessary tostudy the situation of the satellite “fleet” in space, since a Canadian satellite of the operator Telesat,Anik F2, has kept scientists in suspense in recent days. This device, which offers services to Canadian and American customers, including the WildBlue broadband service, suffered a software error on October 6 that had it disabled for 12 hours. At first the possibility thatAnik F2It could also fall to Earth, although ultimately it only left millions of users without Internet and 48 flights on the ground, with about 1,000 passengers affected.
