An previous Earth-observing satellite fell out of orbit Wednesday and harmlessly broke aside over the Pacific.
The European Distant Sensing 2 satellite reentered midway between Hawaii and Alaska. The European Area Company confirmed the demise of the 5,000-pound (2,300-kilogram) spacecraft, often known as ERS-2.
No harm or accidents had been reported. Specialists had anticipated a lot of the satellite to fritter away.
Launched in 1995, the spacecraft was retired in 2011. Flight controllers shortly lowered its orbit to keep away from hitting different satellites, utilizing up all of the gas, and pure orbital decay took care of the remaining. Its entry was uncontrolled, and so the exact location couldn’t be predicted.
“Gone, however not forgotten,” ESA stated on X, previously Twitter. “ERS-2 left a outstanding legacy of knowledge that also proceed to advance science.”
Its predecessor, ERS-1, which failed and stopped working many years in the past, stays in orbit.
© 2024 The Related Press. All rights reserved. This materials might not be printed, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed with out permission.
Quotation:
Outdated European satellite plunges harmlessly by way of the ambiance over the Pacific (2024, February 22)
retrieved 22 February 2024
from https://phys.org/information/2024-02-european-satellite-plunges-harmlessly-atmosphere.html
This doc is topic to copyright. Other than any honest dealing for the aim of personal examine or analysis, no
half could also be reproduced with out the written permission. The content material is supplied for data functions solely.
