Old NASA satellite falling to Earth, risk of danger ‘low’

By MARCIA DUNN
AP Aerospace Writer

An old NASA satellite is expected to fall to Earth. But experts tracking the spacecraft say chances are low it will pose any danger. The defunct science satellite known as Rhessi will plummet through the atmosphere Wednesday night. NASA says there’s uncertainty over when and where it might go down. Most of the 660-pound satellite should burn up during reentry, but some parts are expected to survive. The satellite rocketed into orbit in 2002 to study the sun and was retired in 2018. It captured images in high-energy X-rays and gamma rays, recording more than 100,000 solar events.