European satellite ERS-2 burns up in atmosphere, ESA announces

The European satellite ERS-2, which completed its Earth observation mission 13 years ago, ended its life after entering the atmosphere on Wednesday, the European Space Agency (ESA) reported.

A fallback operation to our planet began in 2011, to prevent the accidental destruction of this object in orbit by dispersing debris dangerous to active satellites and the station International Space Station (ISS).

Pioneer Satellite

“We have confirmed the re-entry of ERS-2 into the atmosphere at 5:17 pm GMT over the North Pacific Ocean between Alaska and Hawaii”

, announced the ESA Operations Center on X (formerly Twitter). Most of ERS-2’s 2.3 tons were theoretically consumed when it reached the lower layers of the atmosphere at an altitude of about 80 km. The first Earth observation satellite, ERS-2 was launched in 1995 and placed at an altitude of about 800 km.

At the end of its mission, the ESA brought it back to about 500 km, so that it then naturally and slowly descended towards Earth in just 13 years under the force of gravity alone. Instead of the 100 to 200 years it would have taken if it had stayed at its initial height. On the eve of its destruction it was still at an altitude of over 200 km. On average, a bulky object like ERS-2 ends its days in the atmosphere once every one or two weeks, according to the ESA.

Deprived of its internal energy (fuel, batteries, etc.) by the end of its mission, the machine presented a significant risk of exploding and creating debris. In July 2023, the European satellite Aeolus returned to Earth in a controlled manner from a lower orbit (300 km) than ERS-2. Debris fell into the Atlantic Ocean. According to the ESA blog dedicated to the mission, in the case of ERS-2, the chance of one of its debris hitting the ground was less than one in a hundred billion.

ESA launched the charter in 2023 “Zero Waste” For space missions designed from 2030. Debris from used satellites, rocket parts, and collision debris has accumulated since the beginning of re-spacecraft. A problem that has increased in recent decades. According to ESA estimates, there are about a million pieces of debris from satellites or rockets larger than one centimeter in orbit, which are that large. “Disable a spacecraft” In case of trauma.