Apr 29 2003
From The Space Library
The Dutch-Italian satellite known as BeppoSAX reentered Earth's atmosphere and splashed into the equatorial Pacific Ocean seven years after its launch into orbit on 30 April 1996. The Italian Space Agency and the Netherlands Agency for Aerospace jointly operated the 3,086-pound (1,400-kilogram) x-ray satellite, best known for its discovery of 50 gamma-ray bursts (GRBs). The Italian Space Agency had estimated that as much as 1,325 pounds (601 kilograms) of the craft could survive reentry, with individual pieces weighing 220 pounds (99.7 kilograms) and had, therefore, notified 39 countries that pieces of the spacecraft could potentially land in their territory. However, the debris falling closest to land splashed into the ocean 186 miles (299 kilometers) northwest of the Galapagos Islands. (Andrew Bridges for Associated Press, “BeppoSAX Satellite Falls Harmlessly into Ocean,” 30 April 2003.
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