5,000-pound satellite crashes through atmosphere between Alaska and Hawaii

A satellite made an uncontrolled return through Earth’s atmosphere Wednesday, re-entering Earth’s atmosphere over the north Pacific Ocean between Alaska and Hawaii, according to the the European Space Agency. The agency said ERS-2, which weighs about as much as an adult male rhinoceros, crashed through the atmosphere at 5:17 p.m. UTC. The agency was unable to predict exactly when and where the satellite would re-enter because its return was “natural.”What is a natural return?ERS-2’s batteries were depleted and its communication antenna and onboard electronics were switched…

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