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Falling satellite: 10 times space junk has crashed into Earth

Falling satellite trackers at NASA say it will hit Friday night or Saturday morning and has a small chance of crashing in the US. But the precise track and timing of the falling satellite is still hard to predict. Falling space junk has happened before, however, including these 10 examples.

2. February 2003: Space shuttle Columbia disintegrates over Texas

Sung Park/Austin American-Statesman/AP/File
Texas residents stand in front of debris believed to be from the space shuttle Columbia, in Hemphill, Texas, in 2003.

  • By Andrew Mach Contributor

In early February 2003, space shuttle Columbia was destroyed upon its reentry into Earth’s atmosphere. The shuttle disintegrated killing all seven crewmembers inside and shedding thousands pieces of debris in Texas and parts of Louisiana. More than 80,000 pieces of debris were recovered and stored for further research.

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