If you're reading this, UARS didn't hit you.

[Heel n Toe]

NASA satellite breaks up in plunge to Earth
By Irene Klotz | Reuters – 44 mins ago

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - A six-tones NASA science satellite plunged through the atmosphere early on Saturday, breaking up and possibly scattering debris in Canada, NASA said.

There were reports on Twitter of debris falling over Okotoks, a town south of Calgary in western Canada, most likely the remains of the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite, or UARS, which had been in orbit for 20 years.

More: NASA satellite breaks up in plunge to Earth - Yahoo! News

[porsche4life]

I was hoping it would fall in my pasture.... Cool space debris!

[stealthn]

So they can see light years into space and send spacecraft outside our galaxy, but they can't tell when a six ton, bus sized, man made object is going to land?!

Give me a break, my wife heard it go over last night and we may go looking for it today (it came in near here) because i need a titanium nasa built shift knob for the 911

[drcoastline]

Originally Posted by stealthn

So they can see light years into space and send spacecraft outside our galaxy, but they can't tell when a six ton, bus sized, man made object is going to land?!

Give me a break, my wife heard it go over last night and we may go looking for it today (it came in near here) because i need a titanium nasa built shift knob for the 911

That would be cool.

[porsche4life]

Bob, the consensus seems to be that it has hit the ground or burnt up somewhere....

[pwd72s]

Lol on the shift knob. With moneyed elitists, that may be a great idea. You could write Teledyne Wah-Chang of Albany Oregon, and submit a design. They make lots of top secret metal stuff for NASA and the military. Maybe such knobs made of "unobtanium" could be sold for what? A few grand each?

[GWN7]

Good luck on the hunt for the shift knob...wear a wet suit and head West..

Satellite hoax had 'debris' falling over Alberta

OKOTOKS, Alta. — In a scene reminiscent of Orson Welles' famous War of the Worlds broadcast, an Internet hoax early Saturday had a NASA satellite the size of a bus crashing to Earth on a farm near Okotoks.

One Twitter report, originating from someone calling himself “Reporter Carl Phillips,” even described “debris found at the Wilmuth Farm,” and detailed tattered vegetation where a piece of orbiting space junk allegedly crashed.

Alas, it was all a complete fabrication.

NASA’s faltering Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite in fact fell out of orbit into the Pacific ocean off the U.S. West Coast sometime between 11:23 p.m. ET Friday and 1:09 a.m. the next day, the space agency reported Saturday.

[svandamme]

It's never a good thing if UrARS get's hit.

[afterburn 549]

Was not the Space Shuttle just up there a few months back>?
Is this Govt planning?
Why did they not give it a shove?
Or retrieve it ?
Govt planning!

[Noah930]

If you (or your property) got hit by this thing, would NASA be legally responsible? On one hand, you're not allowed to keep the property/debris as a souvenir. It's NASA property. So does that imply the govt is on the hook for any damages?

[afterburn 549]

I herd the space program is insured by Loyds

[Scuba Steve]

Originally Posted by afterburn 549

Was not the Space Shuttle just up there a few months back>?
Is this Govt planning?
Why did they not give it a shove?
Or retrieve it ?
Govt planning!

Would be nice for recycling purposes, but orbits were likely too different and the added mass on a shuttle that's more or less a glider when it comes in to land probably wouldn't work out terribly well.

[afterburn 549]

so..was there a booster on it when it was put in orbit...? I read the the shuttle put it there..Not sure how

[porsche4life]

UARS had been out of use for several years. Was probably cheaper just to let it burn up.

[Heel n Toe]

One article I read last week said that NASA was planning to bring it back by shuttle, but after the Challenger disaster in '03, they nixed that idea... but I'm not sure why.