The government assured the public on Friday that the defunct NASA satellite expected to crash back to Earth will not hit the Philippines, as it is predicted to fall on water or empty land, officials said.
In an interview with GMA News TV's "Balitanghali," Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA_ Officer in Charge for Astronomical Observation Mario Raymundo allayed the public's fears, saying that based on recorded history, these falling satellites do not normally cause damage to property or harm people.
"Huwag po tayong mangamba sapagkat ito po ay ginagarantiyahan ng NASA na hindi po ito makakaapekto sa tao," Raymundo said. "Maaari [lamang] po itong makaapekto sa mga astronaut, kung saan ay gumagawa sila ng mga extra-vehicular activity."
The 6.5-ton satellite, called the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS), completed its mission in 2005 and has since been slowly falling back to Earth due to gravity.
Most of the 35-foot-long satellite measuring 15 feet in diameter is expected to be incinerated, NASA said, but up to 26 pieces of satellite debris with a combined mass of 1,100 pounds could still make it to Earth.
The largest chunk of wreckage from UARS is expected to be about 331 pounds (151 kg) or about as big as a school bus, says Nicholas Johnson, chief scientist of NASA's Orbital Debris Program office at the Johnson Space Center in Houston.
PAGASA's Raymundo said the falling debris would be made of materials such as titanium, stainless steel and beryllium.
He explained that NASA scientists are no longer able to program when and where the satellite would land since it has already run out of fuel. "Iyan ang uncertainty, pero tinitiyak nila na maaaring sa tubig [ito bumagsak]," he said.
Should the satellite enter Earth's atmosphere and combust at night, Raymundo said spectators would be able to see the debris as streaks of light just like a meteor shower.
NASA predicts, however, that the chance of a piece of the UARS hitting a person is about one in 3,200.
According to its latest update on the re-entry of the satellite, the occurrence is likely to happen sometime during the afternoon or early evening of Friday, Eastern Daylight Time (around early morning of Saturday in Manila).
"The satellite will not be passing over North America during that time period. It is still too early to predict the time and location of re-entry with any more certainty, but predictions will become more refined in the next 24 hours," it added. — TJD
