NorthCom: Ready for satellite to fall from sky

[unhappycamper]

NorthCom: Ready for satellite to fall from sky
By Michael Hoffman - Staff writer
Posted : Saturday Feb 2, 2008 14:58:22 EST

After plowing over a crater left in his backyard a decade ago by a 500-pound gift from NASA, Steve Gutowski doesn’t want to hear how a spy satellite that’s due to crash to Earth next month poses little danger.

In January 1997, Gutowski and his wife, Verona, were startled awake when a 500-pound chunk of stainless steel dropped into their backyard in central Texas, 25 yards from their bedroom.

“My dogs were barking and my wife said, ‘You better go out there, there’s a rhinoceros lying out there,‘“ Gutowski recalled. “When I went outside, I just saw this big deal lying out there.”

The Gutowski’s rhinoceros turned out to be a Delta II fuel tank that had re-entered the Earth’s atmosphere. The Gutowskis had no warning even though Space Command had spotted it and knew it would hit somewhere in the central U.S. They didn’t even know what it was until Pentagon officials called the Gutowskis after they reported the fuel tank to a local sheriff.

Eleven years later, officials confirmed on Jan. 29 that a satellite roughly the size of a minivan, weighing two to four tons, will fall out of orbit between late February and early April, and could reach Earth’s surface without completely disintegrating. “Appropriate government agencies are monitoring the situation,” National Security Council spokesman Gordon Johndroe said. “Numerous satellites over the years have come out of orbit and fallen harmlessly. We are looking at potential options to mitigate any possible damage this satellite may cause.”


Rest of article at: http://www.airforcetimes.com/news/2008/02/airforce_spysatellite_080202/