(Update: Re-entry confirmed) NASA's retired satellite set to make spectacular return to Earth after 40 years in space

After almost four decades in space, NASA's retired Earth Radiation Budget Satellite (ERBS), a mission designed to investigate how energy from the Sun is absorbed and re-radiated by the Earth, is expected to reenter Earth's atmosphere on Sunday, January 8.

NASA anticipates that the majority of the 5,400-pound satellite will burn up as it passes through the atmosphere, however, some parts are expected to remain intact. The probability of any damage being caused to people on Earth is very low, with the odds being approximately 1 in 9,400.

NASA and the Defense Department will keep an eye on the reentry and revise their forecasts, the agency said in a statement on Friday.

NASA’s retired Earth Radiation Budget Satellite (ERBS) is expected to reenter Earth’s atmosphere after almost 40 years in space.The @DeptofDefense currently predicts reentry at approximately 6:40 pm EST on Jan. 8.https://t.co/3VKDIqDh0X pic.twitter.com/WDpxOC3Hl4

— NASA Earth (@NASAEarth) January 6, 2023

One of the longest-running spacecraft missions to date, ERBS was launched on October 5, 1984 on the Space Shuttle Challenge and was part of NASA's three-satellite Earth Radiation Budget Experiment (ERBE) mission. This spacecraft was equipped with three instruments, two of which were used to measure the Earth's radiative energy budget and one to measure stratospheric constituents, such as ozone.

The ERBS satellite far surpassed its anticipated two-year lifespan, running until its decommissioning in 2005. Its data was used to measure the impact of human activities on Earth's radiation balance. NASA has built on the success of the ERBE mission with projects such as the Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) satellite instruments.

Update 1

The ERBS satellite reentered Earth’s atmosphere over the Bering Sea at 11:04 p.m. EST on Sunday, January 8, the DoD confirmed to NASA.

Update: @NASA’s retired Earth Radiation Budget Satellite reentered Earth’s atmosphere over the Bering Sea at 11:04 p.m. EST on Sunday, Jan. 8, the @DeptofDefense confirmed. https://t.co/j4MYQYwT7Z

— NASA Earth (@NASAEarth) January 9, 2023