NASA Denies Report About Satellite Falling Over Kiev, Says Device Remains in Orbit

© AP Photo / NASAThis illustration provided by NASA depicts the RHESSI (Reuven Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager) solar observation satellite. The defunct science satellite will plummet through the atmosphere Wednesday night, April 19, 2023, according to NASA and the Defense Department. Experts tracking the spacecraft say chances are low it will pose any danger.
This illustration provided by NASA depicts the RHESSI (Reuven Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager) solar observation satellite. The defunct science satellite will plummet through the atmosphere Wednesday night, April 19, 2023, according to NASA and the Defense Department. Experts tracking the spacecraft say chances are low it will pose any danger.  - Sputnik International, 1920, 19.04.2023
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COLORADO SPRINGS (Sputnik) - Following the reports that NASA’s satellite fell in Ukraine, Rob Margetta, NASA’s Public Affairs Officer told Sputnik that the agency’s satellite called RHESSI remains in orbit, and no other objects reentered the atmosphere.
"We are tracking a NASA satellite called RHESSI that is expected to reenter Earth’s orbit tonight. However, that satellite remains in orbit at this time," Margetta said.
"NASA and the Department of Defense continue to track RHESSI. No other NASA satellite reentered the atmosphere earlier today."
Earlier on Wednesday, the head of the Kiev city military administration, Serhiy Popko, said that the flash in the sky over Kiev was the result of a NASA space satellite falling to Earth.
An artists depiction of the RHESSI spacecraft observing the sun. - Sputnik International, 1920, 19.04.2023
Dead 300-Kilogram NASA Satellite Set to Plummet Toward Earth
A bright flash of unknown origin was seen in the sky late Wednesday over Kiev and the region, local media reported explosions in the sky, and published a video of the fall of a luminous object. A few minutes after reports of "UFOs", an air raid alert was declared in the region.
Ukraine presidential adviser Andriy Yermak said that the mysterious flash in the sky over Kiev was the result of the work of Ukrainian air defense, but soon deleted the message.
The agency, in a statement, said that NASA’s retired Reuven Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager (RHESSI) spacecraft is predicted by the Department of Defense to reenter Earth’s atmosphere at approximately 8:50 p.m. EDT on Wednesday, April 19 with an uncertainty of plus or minus an hour.
"NASA expects most of the spacecraft to burn up as it travels through the atmosphere, but some components are expected to survive reentry," the agency said. "The risk of harm coming to anyone on Earth is low - approximately 1 in 2,467. NASA and DoD will continue to monitor reentry and update predictions."
NASA concluded by saying that from 2002 to its decommissioning in 2018, RHESSI helped NASA understand the basic physics of particle acceleration and explosive energy release in solar flares.
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