European Space Agency’s ERS-2 Satellite Set to Make Natural Re-Entry to Earth
A defunct European Space Agency (ESA) satellite, known as ERS-2, is expected to make a dramatic re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere this week. The satellite, which is the size of a school bus, has been orbiting the Earth for over a decade after completing its mission of observing Earth’s systems and natural disasters.
The ERS-2 satellite was launched on April 21, 1995, and has been studying Earth’s land, oceans, and polar caps for 16 years. In 2011, ESA made the decision to end its operation and deorbit the satellite in order to prevent the creation of more space debris. This is in line with guidelines set by NASA, ESA, and other international aerospace community members to reduce dead satellites and rocket parts in low-Earth orbit.
Former NASA astronaut Leroy Chiao explained that most satellites nowadays are designed to be disposed of responsibly and in a controlled manner. At the end of their life, spacecraft will often perform a deorbit burn to target a specific area in the Indian Ocean, far away from shipping lanes and human activity.
For the ERS-2 satellite, mission control sent a series of commands to lower its altitude over 66 maneuvers until it was in a passive orbit. Recently, the satellite was spotted descending through Earth’s atmosphere by other spacecraft in orbit. Images captured by Australian company HEO on behalf of the UK Space Agency showed the ERS-2 satellite tumbling through the atmosphere.
Due to its natural descent path, ESA could not predict exactly when or where the satellite would re-enter Earth’s atmosphere. However, they estimated that it would happen in February 2024. As the satellite’s demise approaches, ESA has been providing updates on its re-entry prediction.
According to ESA’s latest prediction, the satellite will likely burn up over Earth’s atmosphere on Wednesday around 4 p.m. ET, with a margin of error of about 7.5 hours. As the satellite gets closer to its end, the uncertainty of its landing and re-entry location will decrease.
ESA assured that any risks from the satellite re-entry are very low. At an altitude of about 50 miles above Earth, the large satellite is expected to break up into small pieces. It is anticipated that most, if not all, of these pieces will burn up in the atmosphere. The calculated odds by ESA are about one in 1.5 billion that someone would be affected by this re-entry.
ESA’s Space Debris Office continues to provide timing updates as the satellite’s re-entry approaches. Overall, while the re-entry of the ERS-2 satellite may be a spectacle to witness, it poses minimal risk to human life and serves as a reminder of the responsible disposal practices being implemented by space agencies to prevent the accumulation of space debris in Earth’s orbit.
