The European Space Agency (ESA) is watching the sky on February 21, waiting for the ERS-2 satellite to enter the Earth’s atmosphere.
ERS-2 was launched for the first time on April 21, 1995. At the time, it was the most complex satellite of its kind developed and launched by Europe, bTV reported.
After a 13-year period of orbital decay, the satellite will re-enter Earth’s atmosphere naturally.
ESA allows us to follow the information about its movement live on their website.
“Since the entry of the space body into the atmosphere is ‘natural’, without our being able to control its movement, it is not possible to know exactly where and when it will re-enter the atmosphere and start burning,” the agency said in a statement .
According to them, the mass of the satellite is about 2,000 kg, which makes it similar in size to other space debris that enters the Earth’s atmosphere almost every week.
About 80 km above the Earth’s surface, ERS-2 is expected to disintegrate and most of the fragments will burn up in the atmosphere.
The agency said some fragments may reach the surface of the planet, but they will not contain harmful substances and will most likely fall into the ocean.
ESA’s Space Debris Office predicts that ERS-2 will enter the atmosphere around 17:32 Bulgarian time. Due to the unpredictable solar activity, however, there may be a delay or a delay of nearly 4 hours from this time.
#satellite #falls #Earth #LIVE
