The missing science satellite, known as Ressy, will plummet into the atmosphere on Wednesday evening, according to NASA.
On Tuesday, NASA said the entry siteinto the atmosphere has not been disclosed given the ongoing uncertainty about when and where it might fall. Most of the satellite, weighing 300 kg, should burn up upon return. However, "some parts are expected to survive," the US aerospace agency said.
NASA said in a statement that the risk of anyone on Earth being harmed by falling parts of the satellite is "low"—about 1 in 2467.
Rhessi (or "Ressi")—short for Reuven Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager—went into orbit in 2002 to study the Sun.
Photo: NASA
Before it was closed in 2018 due toproblems with communication, the satellite observed solar flares, as well as coronal mass ejections from the Sun. It has taken images in high-energy X-rays and gamma rays, recording more than 100,000 solar events.
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Cover photo: NASA