Satellite crash could mean rude awakening

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- A 6-ton NASA satellite on a collision course with Earth clung to space a little while longer Friday, apparently flipping position and stalling its death plunge.

The old research spacecraft was expected to crash through the atmosphere by about 12:45 a.m. Saturday. Canada, Africa and Australia were in the potential crosshairs, NASA said.

The United States wasn't entirely safe; the possible strike zone skirted Washington state.

Most of it should burn up during re-entry. "The risk to public safety is very remote," NASA said in a statement.

Jonathan McDowell of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics said the satellite's delayed demise and wide possible landing areas demonstrated how unreliable predictions can be.

That said, "the best guess is that it will still splash in the ocean, just because there's more ocean out there." -- AP