Skylab Skylab

US spy satellite falling to earth

By staff writers
January 27, 2008 08:11am

A LARGE US spy satellite is falling from orbit and could hit the Earth in late February or March, government officials said.

The Associated Press reports the defunct satellite has lost power and propulsion and can no longer be controlled.

Officials said the satellite could contain hazardous materials and it is unknown where it might hit the Earth. :monsters-

“Appropriate government agencies are monitoring the situation,” said Gordon Johndroe, a spokesman for the National Security Council.

“Numerous satellites over the years have come out of orbit and fallen harmlessly.

“We are looking at potential options to mitigate any possible damage this satellite may cause,” he said.

He said it would be inappropriate to discuss whether the satellite could be shot down by missile.

Skylab fell out of the sky back in like 1979. I still have the t-shirt that says, Skylab is falling. Skylab is falling.

It'll burn up in the atmosphere, even if all of it doesn't it likely lands in an ocean.

No threat.

There's a Skylab street in Huntington Beach near the Space Systems building of Boeing (formerly McDonnell Douglas).
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Following the last mission, Skylab was left in a parking orbit expected to last at least eight years. The Space Shuttle was planned to dock with and elevate Skylab to a higher safe altitude in 1979; however, the shuttles were not able to launch until 1981. A planned unmanned satellite called the Teleoperator was to be launched to save Skylab, but funding never materialized. Skylab was in need of a major overhaul, including new gyroscopes, and was low on fuel. Some systems were not designed for maintenance in space; however this type of problem had been overcome before such as when the primary coolant loop.

Increased solar activity, heating the outer layers of the Earth's atmosphere and thereby increasing drag on Skylab, led to an early reentry at approximately 16:37 UTC 11 July 1979. In the weeks leading up to the reentry, ground controllers had re-established contact with the six year old vehicle, and were able to adjust its attitude for optimal reentry dynamics. Earth reentry footprint was a narrow band (approx. 4° wide) beginning at about 48° S 87° E and ending at about 12° S 144° E, an area covering portions of the Indian Ocean and Western Australia. Debris was found between Esperance, Western Australia, and Rawlinna, Western Australia, 31–34°S, 122–126°E. An Australian municipality, the Shire of Esperance, fined the United States $400 for littering.<SUP class=reference id=_ref-1>[2]</SUP> In 2004, the History Channel documentary "History Rocks" stated, in an episode covering major events of 1979, that this fine has never been paid.