An old satellite from the European Space Agency (ESA) is about to fall into Earth’s atmosphere.
Space.com, a media specializing in space, reported on the 28th (local time) that ESA’s ‘Aeolus’, a meteorological satellite that has completed its mission, is scheduled to re-enter the Earth’s atmosphere.
This is an experiment in which a satellite that has completed its mission in space orbit is deliberately crashed.
A view of the Aiolos weather satellite. The satellite will soon re-enter Earth’s atmosphere. (Photo = ESA)
Holger Krag, Director of ESA’s Space Debris Program, said of the program, “This is something very unique that we are doing. There is no other example like this in the history of spaceflight.” “We expect that the probability of falling on land in the sun can be reduced to one-third.”
The Aiolos satellite, which weighs 1,360 kg, was launched in August 2018 and has been observing the Earth’s atmosphere at an altitude of 320 km, but was left in Earth orbit after completing its mission in late April. Aiolos reportedly operated for 4.5 years, about 18 months longer than its planned lifespan.
Normally, a satellite that has completed its mission is left in orbit, but ESA plans to crash safely after re-entering Earth using the last fuel of the Aiolos satellite. This satellite re-entry is expected to help solve the space debris problem.
“Today we have 10,000 spacecraft in space, 2,000 of which are non-functional,” Holger Krag explains. Garbage is falling to Earth, and large satellites re-enter the atmosphere about once a week, he explained.
On the 24th, Aeolos lowered its altitude by about 30 km through two engine burns for a total of 37.5 minutes, and on the 27th, it performed four orbital descent maneuvers. The final maneuver is planned for the 28th, and re-entry to Earth is expected about five hours after the end, ESA officials explained.
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If this experiment goes as planned, most of the satellite will burn up as it passes through the atmosphere, and only about 20% of the satellite’s weight of 1,360 kg will remain and crash into the Atlantic Ocean.
ESA said, “We are also reviewing a dedicated propulsion system for intentional crashes during satellite launches in the future.”
