Falling satellite: 10 times space junk has crashed into Earth

Falling satellite trackers at NASA say it will hit Friday night or Saturday morning and has a small chance of crashing in the US. But the precise track and timing of the falling satellite is still hard to predict. Falling space junk has happened before, however, including these 10 examples.

4. April 2000-January 2001: Rocket debris falls to Earth

Delinda Karnehm/Florida Today/AP/File
The launch of a Delta 3 rocket from Florida in 1999.

In late-April 2000, the second stage of a Delta rocket reentered the atmosphere over the Atlantic Ocean. Three pieces of debris were later found in South Africa.

Less than a year later in mid-January 2001, the third stage of a Delta rocket, known as PAM-D (Payload Assist Module-Delta), reentered Earth’s atmosphere over the Middle East. The propellant’s titanium motor casing, which weighed about 154 pounds, landed in Saudi Arabia, but pieces of the titanium pressurant tank and the main propellant tank landed in Texas.

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