Old NASA satellite crashes into Sahara desert

NASA officials said they have received no reports of damage or injuries so far since the reentry, which occurred in the early hours of the morning in Sudan. The satellite fell at 26 degrees longitude and 21.3 degrees latitude in the Sahara Desert, according to the US Department of Defense .

Simulated image of the RHESSI satellite. Photo: NASA

Most of the 300kg satellite, known by its acronym RHESSI, is believed to have burned up as it plummeted through the atmosphere. But experts predict some pieces may have survived and fallen to the ground.

Launched in 2002, RHESSI was shut down in 2018 after a communications failure. Before going silent, it studied flares and coronal mass ejections from the Sun.

The spacecraft is equipped with an imaging spectrometer, which records the Sun's X-rays and gamma rays. From its former position in low Earth orbit, the satellite captured images of the high-energy electrons released in solar flares, NASA said.

Before RHESSI, no gamma-ray or high-energy X-ray images had been taken of these events, which release energy equivalent to billions of megatons of TNT into the Sun's atmosphere within minutes and can have impacts on Earth, including disrupting electrical systems.

Bui Huy (according to NASA, CNN, AP)

Source: https://www.congluan.vn/ve-tinh-cu-cua-nasa-roi-xuong-sa-mac-sahara-post244622.html