As of: March 9, 2024, 4:51 a.m
By: Michelle Brey, Teresa Toth, Tanja Banner
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A battery pack from the ISS was supposed to hit Earth today as space debris.
He flew over Germany and fell into the Atlantic.
The developments in the live ticker.
Update from March 8th, 9:25 p.m.:
The space debris has now fallen into the Atlantic.
Simone Meyer, spokeswoman for the Bundeswehr Space Situation Center, provided information about this.
She couldn't initially say where the package landed.
It was “probably largely burnt up”.
All-clear for Germany: Space debris does not affect Germany
Update from March 8th, 8:08 p.m.:
Now there is an official all-clear.
The Luftwaffe (German Air Force) announced via X (formerly Twitter): “According to our calculations, the package crashed into the Pacific at 8:17 p.m.
The all-clear for Germany.” In another update it says: “According to the latest analyzes from our space situation center, the package will not be seen over Germany a second time today.”
Update from March 8th, 7:30 p.m.:
As
Bild
now reports, citing Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Blätte, the debris is “very likely to fall into the Atlantic or Indian Ocean at 8:17 p.m.”
According to the report, it refers to “railway data updates.”
This was not initially officially confirmed.
Meanwhile, scientist Dr.
Marco Langbroeck on X that the space debris from the ISS is still in orbit.
He saw a “very fast, bright object” passing through the sky in the Netherlands.
A video should also show the rubble.
Authenticity cannot be independently verified.
A user then also confirmed that she had seen a “bright object” in the sky over Germany.
Update from March 8th, 7:15 p.m.:
“At around 7:20 p.m. the overflight from North Rhine-Westphalia towards Cottbus (Brandenburg) can be seen,” said Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Richter to
Bild
.
When visibility is good, you can see a tracer in the sky.
A cloud-free sky would be an advantage.
It was already known that the debris would fly over parts of Germany from around 7:19 p.m. (see update, 4:30 p.m.).
Update from March 8th, 5:57 p.m.:
The civil and disaster control warning system Katwarn has officially informed citizens that space debris from the ISS could fly over Germany this evening.
Already in the afternoon there was a warning about “debris entering the earth’s atmosphere”.
The message has now been supplemented with new information.
The message says: “Today, Friday, March 8th, between 6 p.m. and 10 p.m., debris from a battery pack from the International Space Station (ISS) will cross the airspace over Germany.
Luminous phenomena or the perception of a sonic boom are possible.
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Despite the warning, the likelihood of debris actually hitting Earth is still very low.
However, if the situation changes, the population will be informed again via the warning system.
Several counties are in the corridor for the ISS space debris crash
Update from March 8th, 4:30 p.m.:
The re-entry of space debris from the ISS is getting closer - this is not only noticeable because the first forecasts are slowly coming in (see previous update).
The overflights of the debris over Germany are now becoming more precise – or less so.
In the latest version of the BBK's ground trace map, only two overflights over Germany can be seen.
From 7:19 p.m. to 7:20 p.m. (CET) the debris is currently flying over Germany from the Ruhr area via northern Hesse to Leipzig, Dresden and Görlitz.
The second overflight at 8:50 p.m. (CET) takes place over the most southwestern tip of Germany from the Black Forest over Lake Constance to Ostallgäu and Garmisch-Partenkirchen.
The following districts are located in the space debris crash corridor:
Weilheim-Schongau
Bad Tölz-Wolfratshausen
Garmisch-Partenkirchen
Landsberg am Lech
Ostallgäu
Kaufbeuren
Unterallgäu
The third overflight of the scrap, which previously took place over the Rhine-Main area and Hesse, is now apparently no longer an issue.
Update from March 8th, 4:05 p.m.:
This evening the debris from the ISS will probably enter the Earth's atmosphere.
At least that's what the current forecasts suggest.
The US Space Force predicts that space debris will currently enter the Earth's atmosphere between 6:30 p.m. and 10:30 p.m.
ESA assumes that the debris from the ISS will crash between 3:30 p.m. and 10:30 p.m.
Update from March 8th, 2:40 p.m.:
It is not yet known where the space debris will fall to Earth.
Predicting re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere is not easy for several reasons.
But when the time comes, it could be “spectacular,” as Rainer Kresken, head of the Starkenburg Observatory in Heppenheim, explains to
Merkur.de
.
Update from March 8th, 12:00 p.m.:
Even if the space debris from the ISS does not fall on Germany, it may be noticeable in this country: The debris could be seen as a “shooting star” and a sonic boom may also be heard.
It is now becoming increasingly clear when and where the ISS debris will fly over southern Germany
Update from March 8th, 10:00 a.m.:
According to the Federal Office for Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance (BBK), the pieces of space debris will probably fly over the southwest of Baden-Württemberg on Friday evening at around 7:54 p.m. from the west towards Allgäu and Tyrol.
According to calculations by the German Aerospace Center (DLR), the object could enter the atmosphere over northern North America.
The time window specified is a 20-hour corridor around late Friday evening German time.
Parts of Hesse and Frankfurt are also in the endangered corridor.
Update from March 8th, 9:20 a.m.:
There are a few important questions about space junk right now: Where is the space junk right now?
And when and where could he hit Germany?
A map shows the trajectory of space debris live.
Who is actually liable if space debris hits my house or car?
How such cases are regulated.
And: What danger does space debris actually pose to the Earth?
Space debris filmed during flyover - video shows bright object
Update from March 8th, 9:00 a.m.:
The EP9 battery pack, which was dropped from the International Space Station ISS in March 2021 and is now orbiting the Earth as space debris, still has a height of around 180 kilometers.
Yesterday evening (March 7th), a satellite observer in Leiden, Netherlands was able to observe and film the space debris during a flyby.
It raced across the sky as a bright object and was visible despite clouds:
Update from March 8th, 7:45 a.m.:
Why does the ISS actually throw the scrap towards Earth?
“This is the best way to avoid space debris.
“In principle, this is a good thing,” explains German astronaut Alexander Gerst on Thursday in Washington.
Together with Federal Minister of Economics Robert Habeck (Greens) he is in the USA to hold talks about cooperation between Europeans and Americans on future moon missions.
He rates the danger of space debris as low anyway.
“In any case, these are only very small fragments that still hit the ground, if at all,” says Gerst.
But admits that the NINA warning is “a sign that we might need to do a little more work.”
The battery pack that the ISS dropped in March 2021 is falling towards Earth.
(Archive image) © imago images/ZUMA Wire/Nasa
Space debris from the ISS is expected to hit Earth today – current news
Update from March 8th, 5:15 a.m.:
Space debris is expected to rain down on Earth today.
But which materials can actually withstand flight through the atmosphere?
That's what the German Aerospace Center asks and gives the answer: So-called fiber-ceramic composite materials are best suited to withstand high temperatures and are at the same time light enough for use in space travel.
The following are also particularly heat-resistant:
Lead (melting point: 327 degrees Celsius)
Aluminum (660 degrees Celsius)
Gold ((1064 degrees Celsius)
Glass fibers (1300 degrees Celsius)
Nickel (1455 degrees Celsius)
Steel (1536 degrees Celsius)
Platinum (1773 degrees Celsius)
Ceramic fibers (2000 degrees Celsius)
Tungsten (3422 degrees Celsius)
Diamond (3547 degrees Celsius)
Carbon fibers (3547 degrees Celsius)
Update from March 7th, 10:20 p.m.:
Holger Krag, head of the ESA space security program, also reassures in an interview with the
tagesschau
.
“This is not an isolated case.
We have around 100 tons every year that re-enter in an uncontrolled manner,” said Krag.
The reason this case is getting so much attention is that the debris comes from human spaceflight.
These are under particularly strict observation.
The object is also the largest to have been ejected from the ISS to date.
Update from March 7th, 6:19 p.m.:
The Federal Office for Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance (BBK) has classified the danger warning for Germany about possible debris in more detail.
“We are concerned with transparency and sharing the information we have,” a spokeswoman told
dpa
.
Danger warnings take place in three stages.
The current warning is at the lowest level and only prepares for the possibility of danger.
The BBK continually reports: “If the risk increases, you will receive new information.”
Katwarn is currently triggered: Federal Office warns of space debris in Germany - where the pieces could impact
Update from March 7th, 3:50 p.m.:
The Federal Office for Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance is now officially warning about the “entry of debris into the earth's atmosphere” via the warning apps NINA and Katwarn.
Luminous phenomena or the perception of a sonic boom are possible.
“According to current information, the probability of debris hitting Germany can be assessed as very low.” The BBK is publishing an overflight map for this purpose.
Update from March 7th, 3:10 p.m.:
Several authorities agree that debris from a battery pack that was removed from the ISS could hit Earth on Friday (March 8th).
As the German Aerospace Center (DLR) reports, the object could enter the Earth's atmosphere over northern North America according to calculations - where exactly the debris will land is still unclear.
According to the dpa
news agency, the DLR specifies
a 20-hour corridor around late Friday evening German time as the time window.
However, the re-entry estimate is subject to change.
How quickly a piece of space debris sinks to Earth also depends on the space weather.
This refers to solar activity - if the sun is more active, the resistance of the Earth's atmosphere becomes greater and the space debris falls towards the Earth more quickly.
Solar activity is difficult to predict, so the prediction of re-entry timing may change.
Battery pack from the ISS is supposed to hit Earth - where the parts could impact and which locations are affected
Update from March 7th, 1:00 p.m.:
As
Bild
reports, the space debris could hit Germany on March 8th in four short time windows between 4:47 p.m. and 7:50 p.m.
Major cities such as Dortmund, Düsseldorf, Kassel, Freiburg, Koblenz, Dresden and Leipzig are said to be located in the 35 kilometer wide corridor, which the newspaper claims is exclusive.
The Federal Office for Civil Protection and Disaster Relief writes on its website: “Before re-entry, the object flies over the territory of the Federal Republic of Germany several times.
However, a threat to Germany is currently considered statistically unlikely.”
Space debris from the ISS flies over Germany
Update from March 7th, 12:45 p.m.:
The Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection (BMWK) confirms
merkur.de
from
IPPEN.MEDIA
that the re-entry of space debris is expected for “the period around March 8th, 2024”.
Initial analyzes by the German space situation center have shown that parts of the battery packs can survive re-entry and reach the earth's surface.
But it shouldn't be dangerous, according to a spokeswoman: "According to the space situation center, a threat to Germany is very unlikely."
Nevertheless, the space situation center in Uedem will monitor further developments and report to various ministries and authorities.
If there are indications that Germany could be affected, “the existing crisis response mechanisms of the federal and state governments will be used to respond appropriately to a possible threat,” said the spokeswoman.
“However, as things stand, this is more than unlikely.
Nevertheless, the property is closely monitored.”
Space debris could hit Earth tomorrow
First report from March 7, 2024, 10:45 a.m.:
Munich - In March 2021, a pallet with batteries was dropped from the International Space Station ISS, which has been orbiting the earth ever since.
Weighing 2.6 tons, it was the heaviest object ever dropped from the ISS.
The plan: The pallet with the old batteries would orbit the Earth for two to four years and then enter the Earth's atmosphere.
Now the time has apparently come.
As
Bild
reports, citing the Ministry of Economics and Climate Protection, the battery block is expected to hit the earth on Friday (March 8).
A large part of the space debris is likely to burn up in the Earth's atmosphere.
The block is expected to break into hundreds of fragments, the newspaper said.
However, fragments can also fall to the ground.
In Germany, according to the report, a 35-kilometer-wide corridor that stretches across Germany may be affected.
ISS sends battery pack into space - it now falls to Earth
The pallet of batteries was a remnant of the last Japanese HTV supply spacecraft that visited the ISS in May 2020.
The HTV carried six space station lithium-ion batteries that were connected to the space station's solar array.
The route chosen for the old batteries was the way the ISS usually disposes of its waste: entering the Earth's atmosphere.
On March 21, 2021 at 2:30 p.m. (CET), the ISS robotic arm released the pallet with the old batteries into space.
At the time, NASA assumed that the battery block, which was approximately four by two meters in size, would burn up “harmlessly” in the atmosphere.
Other experts were more skeptical: astronomer Jonathan McDowell wrote on Twitter (now
“It’s concerning, although on the low end of concerning,” McDowell said at the time.
The astronomer Phil Plait was also skeptical at the time: “That seems dangerous to me.
It appears to be large and dense, so it is unlikely to burn completely,” he tweeted.
Recently, a European Earth observation satellite burned up in the Earth's atmosphere.
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