Defunct NASA satellite to crash into earth, risk "remote": NASA

11:57, 24 September 2011

WASHINGTON. September 24. KAZINFORM A defunct NASA science satellite is expected to fall back to Earth on Friday or early Saturday, but the risk to public safety is extremely small, officials said.

According to Xinhua, re-entry of the satellite, named Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS), is expected between 11 p.m. Friday and 3 a.m. Saturday, U.S. Eastern Daylight Time (0300 to 0700 GMT Saturday), said NASA.

During that time period, the satellite will be passing over Canada, Africa and Australia, as well as vast areas of the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian oceans, but the risk to public safety is "very remote," NASA added.

The NASA stressed that the risk to public safety or property is extremely small, adding that since the beginning of the Space Age in the late 1950s, there have been no confirmed reports of an injury resulting from re-entering space objects.

"Nor is there a record of significant property damage resulting from a satellite re-entry", the NASA added.

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