There's that secret satellite, secretly about as big as a school bus, it seems, that is secretly but not too secretly about to fall out of orbit and land nobody knows where, in one or nobody knows how many pieces, nobody knows exactly when...
Now the question is, should there be concern over this particular object? The answer is maybe, but probably not. Yes, it is re-entering in an uncontrolled manner when normally this type of satellite would be intentionally destroyed over the ocean far from prying eyes. The only reason that this particular object (and for that matter any satellite) would pose significant threat would be if it contained a radioactive power supply, such as the Snap series. There has been some discussion on the amateur mailing list over whether or not this satellite has such a power supply. Some have indicated that since solar panels can’t be seen it might indeed use one. Others have responded that since the satellite went into safe mode shortly after launch, the solar panels might not have deployed and that could be the reason for their absence. And in either case, there is evidence (and significant incentive) for the US to have secured any radioactive material within a protective shell that could survive re-entry, if only to keep the materials from falling into the wrong hands.
(Wired: Danger Room)
...but, as one commenter notes, not to worry: FEMA is on the job.
No comments:
Post a Comment