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Space Junk to Hit Earth Tomorrow
Ammonia tank chucked from ISS expected to break up in atmosphere
By Rob Quinn
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Posted Nov 1, 08 3:07 AM CDT
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(Newser)
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NASA is tracking a fridge-sized chunk of space trash expected to plunge to Earth tomorrow night, Space.com reports. The ammonia tank was thrown overboard from the International Space Station over a year ago and has been slowly descending since. NASA says it's highly unlikely that anybody will impacted by the debris but people should be wary of any strange objects they find.
"It is a large object and pieces will enter and we just need to be cautious," NASA's space station program manager said. "If anybody found a piece of anything on the ground Monday morning, I would hope they wouldn't get too close to it." The tank—the biggest piece of trash ever jettisoned from the station—was thrown overboard after engineers planned a route that would minimize the risk to spacecraft and to Earthlings below.