Volendam may see UARS breakup!

[Pete Jackson]

The Volendam is currently in the South Pacific near the position of the predicted last orbit of the UARS satellite! See:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=30703951#post30703951

[sail7seas]

NASA is still saying it is possible it could re-enter over U.S. Apparently it changed speed and/or course and they revised their 'projection' of where it will hit earth.

[woodofpine]

Its break up path is now project off the south of Florida early this eve such that a lot of ships from the Bahamas to west of Cuba may get a ligth show! Hopefully, no deaths along the line of the old DEVO song, 'Space Junk'!

[Pete Jackson]

Yes, if it comes in one orbit early, it could be over Florida. An uncertainty in the time of 45 minutes could mean it comes down on the opposite side of the Earth, but along the same last orbit track. It's like if there were going to be an explosion somewhere along I95 between Maine and Florida, you could be affected anywhere along the highway, but you would be completely safe if you lived ten miles away from the highway.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Guess we all with have to watch and see where all the pieces land.

[Himself]

I hope when it comes crashing down that it does so on the open water and that no ships are hit, no boats are hit and that no one gets hurt.

[sail7seas]

I hope when it comes crashing down that it does so on the open water and that no ships are hit, no boats are hit and that no one gets hurt.

 

 

Amen to that.

[jtl513]

Go to www.heavens-above.com to see a diagram of where it is in real-time ... if it hasn't broken up yet by the time you read this!

 

Latest from NASA:

 

Update #12

Fri, 23 Sep 2011 10:50:07 PM EDT

 

As of 10:30 p.m. EDT on Sept. 23, 2011, the orbit of UARS was 85 miles by 90 miles (135 km by 140 km). Re-entry is expected between 11:45 p.m. Friday, Sept. 23, and 12:45 a.m., Sept. 24, Eastern Daylight Time (3:45 a.m. to 4:45 a.m. GMT). During that time period, the satellite will be passing over Canada and Africa, as well as vast areas of the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian oceans. The risk to public safety is very remote.

[erewhon]

jtl513,

 

Thank you for the link.

I will look again soon and see if it is nearer to us here in the South Pacific.

[jtl513]

jtl513,

 

Thank you for the link.

I will look again soon and see if it is nearer to us here in the South Pacific.

I've noticed that sometimes it takes a few seconds for the diagram to pop up.

[erewhon]

Well I am pleased that it has now passed us on its present orbit.

(It's about 4 pm Saturday here.)

[sail7seas]

Well I am pleased that it has now passed us on its present orbit.

(It's about 4 pm Saturday here.)

 

 

Are you Australia/New Zealand?

[erewhon]

New Zealand.

[Pete Jackson]

It seems that UARS reentered over the Pacific or Canada around midnight Eastern Daylight time. The Volendam or Sun Princess may have had a good chance to see something.

[jtl513]

New Zealand.

It may have broken up just after passing you!

 

NASA said ... fell to Earth sometime between 11:23 p.m. EDT on Friday and 1:09 a.m. EDT on Saturday.

 

"The precise re-entry time and location are not yet known with certainty," NASA said of the 20-year-old satellite.

 

There were reports on Twitter of debris falling over Okotoks, a town south of Calgary in western Canada, most likely satellite remains.

[billet]

I watched the skylab reenter and breakup when I was in Perth in 1979. It looked like a comet at the start and then got very large. If only digital HD Video had been available at that time! All I have is memories and no pics :-(

[DiploTraveler]

billet, I love your avatar! It freaked me out for a second.

[sail7seas]

:confused: How could it have been seen in a dark, night sky? What would have lit it up? Was it burning debris? Sorry if dumb questions but I didn't imagine it would be visible but could it have been red hot steel from the re-entry?

[jtl513]

:confused: How could it have been seen in a dark, night sky? What would have lit it up? Was it burning debris? Sorry if dumb questions but I didn't imagine it would be visible but could it have been red hot steel from the re-entry?

Yes, the pieces would all be fireballs, far more visible at night than during the day ... although some of the larger fireballs could probably be seen in daylight. Even the parts that didn't burn up completely would be glowing white hot.

[sail7seas]

Thanks, John.

[jtl513]

Thanks, John.

But during the day the larger pieces would be trailing smoke, like the Columbia Shuttle disaster, that would help make them more visible.

[sail7seas]

Guess we'll have to wait for the next space junk to fall from the skies so we can see either day or night re-entry. It doesn't seem there is any video of UARS or surely we would be seeing it by now?

[jtl513]

It doesn't seem there is any video of UARS or surely we would be seeing it by now?

If you Google "UARS video" you'll find a few that claim to show it, but none are very good.

[sail7seas]

Yah....... not very special.