Nearly 40 years after it was launched, a retired NASA satellite is coming home.
The 5,400-pound Earth Radiation Budget Satellite -- which was launched in 1984 onboard the space shuttle Challenger -- is expected to re-enter Earth's atmosphere this weekend, NASA reported on Saturday. Although most of it is expected to burn up upon re-entry Sunday evening, pieces of the satellite will likely survive and end up crashing onto Earth, according to NASA.
But don't take cover just yet. The chances of someone being hit by a piece of falling satellite debris is one-in-9,400, NASA officials say.
How would the space program be affected if a falling satellite killed someone?