HOMEWARD BOUND

Massive NASA Satellite to Crash-Land on Earth

The satellite has been out in space for 14 years.

A NASA satellite weighing a staggering 1,323 pounds was hurtling down to Earth on Tuesday and was set to crash land at around 7:45 p.m. ET. “NASA expects most of the spacecraft to burn up as it travels through the atmosphere, but some components are expected to survive re-entry,” NASA said of Van Allen Probe A, which is coming back home after a 14-year journey in space. Officials are not sure where the satellite will end up, but the chance that it strikes a human is incredibly unlikely at 1 in 4,200. “The risk of harm coming to anyone on Earth is low... NASA and Space Force will continue to monitor the re-entry and update predictions,” the agency said. The satellite has been in space to collect data from Earth’s two permanent radiation belts, helping to analyze space weather and understand how solar activity affects technology on Earth. The probe made a major discoveries, including uncovering for the first time a transient third radiation belt that sometimes forms during increased solar activity. Van Allen Probe A launched in 2012 with its twin, Van Allen Probe B, for a two-year mission and operated for seven years, until it went out of service in 2019. Van Allen Probe B is set to come home in 2030.