A European satellite launched in 1995 with the objective of observing the Earth and which concluded its mission 13 years ago, fell to Earth last Wednesday, the European Space Agency (ESA) reported.
The satellite debris fell over the North Pacific Ocean at approximately 18:17 CET (17:17 UTC), ESA said. The satellite’s altitude had been steadily decreasing since ESA decided to retire it in 2011.
[post_relacionado]Importantly, the satellite reached the critical altitude of about 80 km above the Earth’s surface on Wednesday, at which point atmospheric drag became so strong that it began to disintegrate into pieces, the space agency explained on its website.
The fall of the satellite on Earth
The satellite, weighing 2.5 metric tons, was deliberately and gradually lowered to avoid the creation of more space debris in Earth orbit, which could pose a threat to active satellites and the International Space Station.
ESA also assured that most of the satellite disintegrated when it re-entered the Earth’s atmosphere. Other fragments of the satellite fell into the sea.
The satellite was estimated to have a mass of about 2,294 kg after exhausting its fuel.“On average, an object of similar mass re-enters the Earth’s atmosphere every week or two,” ESA stated on its website.
ESA experts had already indicated that there was almost no chance of the debris causing harm to humans and confirmed this in a statement after the satellite disintegrated in the Earth’s atmosphere.
“The odds of a piece of satellite falling on someone’s head are estimated at one in a billion,” Benjamin Bastida Virgili, ESA’s space debris systems engineer, had said earlier.
About the European satellite ERS-2
When the ERS-2, or European Remote Sensing Satellite, was launched in 1995, following its sister satellite, ERS-1, launched four years earlier, it was Europe’s most sophisticated Earth observation satellite, according to ESA.
During its 16 years of operation, ERS-2 collected data that provided deep insights into climate change, returning information on polar ice decline, land surface changes, sea level rise, ocean warming, and atmospheric chemistry.
It should be noted that the satellite also monitored natural disasters, including floods and earthquakes, in remote areas of the world.
The re-entry of the ERS-2 satellite not only marks the end of an era in European Earth observation, but also highlights the importance of sustainable end-of-life satellite management. This event underscores the continued need for innovation in space debris mitigation and in the development of technologies that enable the safe descent of satellites and debris, thus ensuring the protection of vital space infrastructure and the safety of populations on Earth.
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Source: dw.com