"Retired ISS Batteries Plunge to Earth: 5800 Pounds of Space Junk Reentry"

TL;DR Summary
A 5,800-pound object, known as Exposed Pallet 9 (EP9), containing old Nickel-Hydrogen batteries was jettisoned from the International Space Station in March 2021 and re-entered Earth's atmosphere today, falling over the Gulf of Mexico between Cancun and Cuba. The object, with the approximate mass of a large SUV, was tracked by a satellite tracker and was predicted to re-enter in two-to-four years. The re-entry was within the expected window, and the majority of space objects re-enter the atmosphere in a natural way, with most fragments burning up before reaching the ground.
Topics:science#earths-atmosphere#international-space-station#reentry#satellite-tracker#space#space-debris
- 5,800 Pounds of Batteries Tossed Off the ISS in 2021 Fell to Earth Today Slashdot
- 5800 pounds of batteries tossed off the ISS in 2021 will fall to Earth today Space.com
- Reentry of International Space Station (ISS) batteries into Earth's atmosphere European Space Agency
- A hunk of junk from the International Space Station hurtles back to Earth Ars Technica
- Grab a helmet because retired ISS batteries are hurtling back to Earth The Register
Reading Insights
Total Reads
0
Unique Readers
1
Time Saved
1 min
vs 2 min read
Condensed
69%
294 → 91 words
Want the full story? Read the original article
Read on Slashdot