Piece of largest object ever jettisoned from ISS crashes into Florida home, U.S.

Piece of largest object ever jettisoned from ISS crashes into Florida home, U.S.

In March 2021, NASA ground controllers deployed the International Space Station’s (ISS) robotic arm to discard a cargo pallet (EP-9) containing obsolete nickel hydride batteries, following upgrades to lithium-ion units. This operation set a record for the heaviest item jettisoned from the ISS. While the entire pallet was expected to disintegrate before reaching Earth’s surface, a fragment of this hardware survived atmospheric re-entry and struck a residence in Naples, Florida, in March 2024.

Largest object ever jettisoned from ISS to make uncontrolled re-entry this week

Largest object ever jettisoned from ISS to make uncontrolled re-entry this week

The International Space Station’s (ISS) largest-ever discarded object, a hefty equipment pallet weighing 2.9 tons, is anticipated to make an uncontrolled descent back to Earth between March 8 and 9, 2024. Launched into space for a critical ISS power system upgrade, this pallet, loaded with nine old station batteries, will not fully disintegrate upon reentry, with predictions indicating about half a ton of debris could survive the descent and impact the planet’s surface.

Pieces of Chinese Long March 5B rocket expected to hit Earth’s surface this weekend

Pieces of Chinese Long March 5B rocket expected to hit Earth’s surface this weekend

A massive booster from Chinese Long March 5B rocket, launched on July 24, 2022, is expected to re-enter Earth’s atmosphere over the weekend, with some of its pieces surviving the descent and hitting the surface. The rocket delivered the Wentian experiment module to China’s Tiangong Space Station.

Starlink satellites falling from the sky caught on videos

Starlink satellites falling from the sky caught on videos

Starlink satellites are falling from the sky after a G1 – Minor geomagnetic storm hit Earth just a day after they were launched from Kennedy Space Center in Florida on February 3, 2022. Preliminary analysis shows that the storm caused significantly increased…

Ariane 44L rocket launched in 1992 creates fiery spectacle over Brazil

Ariane 44L rocket launched in 1992 creates fiery spectacle over Brazil

The body of Ariane 44L rocket launched in 1992 re-entered Earth's atmosphere over Brazil at around 21:46 UTC (18:46 LT) on March 16, 2021, two days after schedule. The event created spectacular fiery scenery above the Brazilian state of Para and was mistaken…