An unprecedented maneuver to return a European Space Agency satellite to Earth
The European satellite “Aeolus” returned to Earth “successfully” after completing its space mission in orbit, as part of an unprecedented maneuver aimed at reducing the risk of satellite debris falling to the Earth’s surface, the European Space Agency announced, Saturday.
This Earth-observing satellite, launched in 2018 to monitor winds, penetrated the atmosphere in a controlled manner after several days of maneuvers aimed at lowering its orbit.
Aeolus, which weighs a little more than one ton and was operating at an altitude of 320 km, gradually descended to an altitude of 120 km, then penetrated the atmosphere, where it crashed from Friday night to Saturday.
Speaking to AFP, Benjamin Bastida, engineer in charge of space debris at the European Space Agency, said: “Aeolus has succeeded in entering the trajectory we were setting over Antarctica, where the world’s smallest population lives.”
Controlled assistive maneuvers in the atmosphere are common on modern satellites. As they approach the end of their work, they are removed from their orbit and directed toward a very specific region on Earth: Point Nemo in the South Pacific Ocean.
However, “Aeolus” was designed in the late 1990s and “did not have enough thrust forces” to fully control its fall and target the exact point, according to the engineer.
At an altitude of 120 km, the moon landing process was not fully controlled, and there was a risk that its debris, particularly what does not burn in the atmosphere, would cause damage on the ground.
Although this risk is limited, ESA wanted to reduce it “as much as possible” in order to “demonstrate its commitment to debris-neutral missions,” which is the agency’s 2030 goal.
Bastida noted that the radars were unable to detect whether a quantity of Aeolus debris had entered the atmosphere. He pointed out that if the moon had not been removed from its orbit, it would have fallen naturally within two or three months in an uncontrollable manner.
Dominique Guilleron, director of scientific programs for Earth observations at the European Space Agency, confirmed that the mission was “pioneering” in terms of measuring winds, and contributed to “improving weather forecasts.”
A second mission is being prepared for the European satellite, Aeolus.
(AFP)
