The old satellite that fell to Earth

This is the ESA ERS-2 remote sensing satellite. It entered the atmosphere this Wednesday. Exactly where did it fall? It was over the North Pacific Ocean between Alaska and Hawaii, as confirmed by ESA. The old satellite that fell to Earth continued on its course as programmed.

The ESA published images of the spacecraft taken from other satellites. He did it on January 14, January 28, January 29 and February 3. It was when the old satellite was still at an altitude of more than 300 kilometers. As planned, when it descended below 80 kilometers its disintegration would begin.

The old satellite that fell to Earth complied and was monitored until its descent into the Pacific.
The old satellite that fell to Earth complied and was monitored until its descent into the Pacific.

Other readmissions

Reentry predictions for the satellite were centered on February 21 at 00:19 UTC. The mass of ERS-2 at launch (including fuel) was 2,516 kilograms. Finally, ESA has confirmed atmospheric re-entry at 17:17 UTC. It was confirmed that it was over the North Pacific Ocean between Alaska and Hawaii.

It was originally launched on an Ariane-4 rocket from the Kourou Space Center in French Guiana on April 21, 1995. ERS-2 was one of ESA's first Earth observation satellites. ERS-2 monitored land masses, oceans, rivers, vegetation, and the Earth's polar regions. It used visible light and ultraviolet sensors and ceased operations in September 2011.

There are other recent high-profile reentries, too, of the old satellite that fell to Earth. They include the UARS satellite (6.5 tons, in 2011) and the huge Long March-5B booster. It was launched by the core module of China's Tiangong Space Station in late 2022. It weighed 23 tons.

The satellite was launched in 1995.
The satellite was launched in 1995.

Dead batteries

ESA approved its first space debris mitigation policy in 2008. It happened 13 years after the launch of ERS-2. In 2011, ESA decided to passively re-enter the satellite. Thus began a series of 66 deorbitation maneuvers. It sought to reduce its orbit from 785 kilometers to 573 kilometers. With fuel depleted and batteries dead, he finally succumbed.

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