NASA’s Van Allen Probe A, one of a pair of research satellites launched in 2012, is set to crash back to the Earth’s surface.
The two satellites Van Allen Probe A and Van Allen Probe B were designed to research the Van Allen permanent radiation belts around Earth for two years, though both ended up working for seven, finally running out of fuel in 2019.
The Space Force predicted that the 1,323-pound Probe A will return to Earth at around 7:45 p.m. EDT Tuesday, with a statistical uncertainty of 24 hours, NASA said.
NASA expects most of Probe A to burn up as it falls through the sky, but that some components will endure.
The risk of harm to people on the ground from the satellite’s re-entry is one-in-4,200, NASA said. The space agency did not specify where it expects the satellite’s remains to land.
NASA said that its scientists originally expected the probes to re-enter Earth’s atmosphere in 2034, but an uptick in solar activity has caused Probe A to enter earlier than expected.
Probe B is not expected to return to Earth until at least 2030.
