NATION IN BRIEF : WASHINGTON, D.C. : Satellite Expected to Burn Up Tonight

A satellite that has been studying the sun for nearly 10 years, the Solar Maximum satellite, lost about 20 miles’ altitude in a 24-hour period, prompting the U.S. Space Command to predict that it will fall to Earth about 7:45 tonight. Most of the satellite will burn up in the atmosphere, but up to a dozen larger pieces, weighing up to 100 pounds, may survive. Officials weren’t ready to say in what part of the satellite’s track they might come to Earth. More than 80% of the satellite’s path is over water and the chances of debris hitting anyone are considered remote, officials said. The only parts of the United States under Solar Max’s ground track are South Florida and the extreme southern parts of Texas and Hawaii, they said.