The Sky is Falling, The Sky is Falling!

No, I'm not going to tell you the story of Chicken Little. I'm actually forewarning you about the satellite that is making it's way towards earth, as I type. Not to worry, this is nothing to panic about, but in case you haven't heard, I thought I would let you know.

The Upper Atmospheric Research Satellite (UARS) was launched in 1991 by NASA and now it is literally falling from space towards earth. The satellite weighs 6 1/2 tons and is about the size of a bus. It is expected to enter the atmosphere around September 23rd (Friday) give or take a day. So yes, this could happen tomorrow.

When the re-entry happens, most of the satellite will burn up due to the very high temperatures, but about 26 pieces are expected to survive. The largest of the debris could weigh in around 300 pounds, so in other words go get a hard hat! No, no, no I'm just kidding, the chance that any piece of the satellite will hit a person is 1-in-3,200. Scientists are expecting the landing area will be somewhere between northern Canada and southern South America...way to narrow it down, right? But if you really think about it, around 75 percent of the world is water, and plenty of that specified area is uninhabited, so chances are good that minimal damage will be done.

Dave McCord seems to be a little worried, he hasn't taken the hard hat off all day. But don't let this alarm you... at least about the falling satellite, but you might need to be alarmed about Dave's sanity...