Science: Dangerous space debris passes over the Southwest

Space debris will likely fall to Earth and possibly also parts of Baden-Württemberg on Friday. However, experts stand by their assessment and see falling debris from the ISS's discarded battery pack He eats In all probability there is no danger to Germany. A spokesman for the German Aerospace Center (DLR) told the German News Agency on Friday morning that parts were unlikely to fall over Germany. A discarded battery pack from the International Space Station (ISS) is said to enter the atmosphere and burn up. Individual parts can survive the intense heat during re-entry and reach the Earth's surface, as unanimously announced by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection, responsible for space travel, and the German Aerospace Center (DLR).

According to the Federal Office for Civil Protection and Disaster Relief (BBK), the fragments are likely to fly over southwest Baden-Württemberg on Friday evening at around 7:54 pm, coming from the west towards Allgäu and Tyrol. According to the German Aerospace Center According to calculations, the object could enter the atmosphere over northern North America. The time frame selected is a 20-hour corridor late Friday evening German time. Even if the probability of debris falling on Germany is very low, “luminous phenomena or the visualization of a sonic boom” are possible, according to the warning applications, among others. “If the risk increases, you will receive new information.”

According to the information, the object is a platform with batteries the size of a car and weighs 2.6 tons. The platform was deliberately separated from the International Space Station on March 21, 2021, to enter the atmosphere years later.

© dpa-infocom, dpa:240308-99-264532/3