Good News: FEMA is Prepared In Case Plunging Satellite Hits You in the Head

Emergency agency readies for 6.5-ton piece of space debris to hit Earth. The impact is expected sometime Friday.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) -- A dead 6-ton satellite is getting closer and closer, and is expected to smack down on Earth on Friday.

NASA's old research satellite is expected to come crashing down through the atmosphere Friday afternoon, Eastern Time. The spacecraft will not be passing over North America then, the space agency said in a statement Wednesday evening.

The predictions should become more precise by Thursday afternoon and certainly by Friday.

"It is still too early to predict the time and location of re-entry with any more certainty," NASA said.

An estimated 26 pieces - representing 1,200 pounds - are expected to survive.

FEMA Prepared In Case Plunging Satellite Hits U.S.