Artist rendition of Van Allen Probes spacecraft. (NASA via SWNS)
By Dean Murray
A satellite larger than a grand piano is expected to crash to Earth this week.
NASA’s Van Allen Probe A is expected to re-enter Earth’s atmosphere eight years earlier than expected.
The space agency said much of the 1,323-pound spacecraft would burn up as it re-enters the atmosphere, but some components are expected to survive re-entry.
NASA said: "The risk of harm coming to anyone on Earth is low — approximately 1 in 4,200. NASA and Space Force will continue to monitor the re-entry and update predictions."
Wikimedia Commons
The US Space Force predicted that the satellite will re-enter the atmosphere at approximately 11:45pm UK-time on Tuesday (Mar 10) but admitted that schedule comes "with an uncertainty of +/- 24 hours."
Originally designed for a two-year mission, the Van Allen Probes A and B launched on August 30, 2012, and gathered unprecedented data on Earth’s two permanent radiation belts — named for scientist James Van Allen — for almost seven years.
NASA ended the mission after the two spacecraft ran out of fuel and were no longer able to orient themselves towards the Sun. 
Van Allen Probe B, the twin of the re-entering spacecraft, is not expected to re-enter before 2030.
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person.
Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.