Rainfall Spacecraft Re-enters Over Tropics
June 16, 2015 | NASAEstimated reading time: 1 minute
The Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) spacecraft re-entered the Earth’s atmosphere on June 16, 2015, at 2:54 a.m. EDT, over the South Indian Ocean, according to the U.S. Strategic Command’s Joint Functional Component Command for Space through the Joint Space Operations Center (JSpOC). The U.S. Space Surveillance Network, operated by the Defense Department's JSpOC, had been closely monitoring TRMM’s descent since the mission was ended in April. Most of the spacecraft was expected to burn up in the atmosphere during its uncontrolled re-entry.
Since the beginning of the space age in the 1950s, there has been no confirmed report of an injury resulting from re-entering space objects. The last NASA spacecraft to re-enter was the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS) in September 2011. UARS was a much larger satellite than TRMM and NASA received no reports of surviving debris.
NASA’s Orbital Debris Program Office estimates 12 components of the TRMM spacecraft could survive reentry. The chance that one of these pieces would strike someone is approximately 1 in 4,200, which is a relatively low chance.
Any sightings of suspected TRMM debris should be reported to local authorities. The pieces of TRMM expected to survive re-entry are made of titanium and are not toxic. Debris could have sharp edges and should not be touched or handled, in the unlikely event someone were to find TRMM fragments.
The value of the new type of precipitation data produced by TRMM is widely recognized by both the scientific community and the operational weather forecast community. TRMM data were used to improve weather models and hurricane track and intensity estimates around the world.
The TRMM dataset will continue to be used for research to improve global weather and climate models. The data meet exacting standards for data preservation, so that future scientists will be able to use the data. The dataset also is being processed to make up one continuous climate data record with the follow-on Global Precipitation Mission (GPM), also a joint project between the U.S. and Japan.
Suggested Items
Keysight, Instrumentix Partner to Launch Complete Trade Monitoring Solution for Financial Markets
11/21/2024 | Keysight TechnologiesKeysight Technologies, Inc. expanded its financial capital markets portfolio through a partnership with Instrumentix to introduce a cutting-edge trade solution.
Gartner Forecasts MENA IT Spending to Grow 7.4% in 2025
11/20/2024 | Gartner, Inc.IT spending in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region is projected to total $230.7 billion in 2025, an increase of 7.4% from 2024, according to the latest forecast by Gartner, Inc.
ASMPT: Highly Flexible Die and Flip-chip Bonder for Co-packaged Optics Production
11/20/2024 | ASMPTThe high-precision AMICRA NANO die and flip-chip bonder has been specially developed for the production of co-packaged optics where which optical and electronic components are integrated in a common housing. With its exceptional process stability and a placement accuracy of ±0.2 μm @ 3 σ, this innovative bonding system is ideally equipped for the communication technology of the future.
New Ultrafast Memory Boosts Intel Data Center Chips
11/19/2024 | IntelWhile Intel’s primary product focus is on the processors, or brains, that make computers work, system memory (that’s DRAM) is a critical component for performance. This is especially true in servers, where the multiplication of processing cores has outpaced the rise in memory bandwidth (in other words, the memory bandwidth available per core has fallen).
Sluggish Telecom Market Growth Prompts Operators to Become Full-Stack Technology Suppliers
11/18/2024 | IDCWorldwide spending on telecommunications and pay TV services will reach $1,544 billion in 2024, representing an increase of 2.4% year-on-year, according to the Worldwide Semiannual Telecom Services Tracker published by International Data Corporation (IDC).