Disused ERS-2 satellite burns up in Earth’s atmosphere

A large satellite whose mission ended 13 years ago burned up during its reentry into Earth’s atmosphere on Wednesday. ERS-2 “safely completed” its return over the North Pacific Ocean at around 6:17 pm CET, the European Space Agency said in the online service.

The Earth observation satellite ERS-2 was launched into space in 1995 and from then on orbited the Earth at an altitude of almost 800 kilometers. In 2011, it was powered down and began its journey back to Earth. This was intended to prevent uncontrolled destruction of the satellite, which could have posed a risk to other satellites or the International Space Station (ISS) due to the debris.

At the end of its mission, ESA lowered the satellite to approximately 500 kilometers, allowing it to then descend naturally and gradually to Earth in just 13 years, using gravity alone. If it had remained at its original height, it would have lasted 100 to 200 years. On the eve of destruction, ERS-2 was still at an altitude of over 200 kilometers.

According to ESA, in the case of ERS-2, the chance of one of the debris hitting a person on the ground was less than one in 100 billion.

Waste from discarded satellites, rocket parts and collision debris has accumulated since the dawn of the space age – a problem that has become increasingly serious in recent decades. According to ESA estimates, there are about a million pieces of satellite or rocket debris in orbit that are larger than a centimeter, large enough to “disable a spacecraft” in the event of a collision.

In 2023, ESA launched a ‘zero debris’ charter for space missions starting in 2030. (sda/afp)