The massive Earth observation satellite from Europe, ERS-2, is making its fated return to the surface after almost three decades, but the catch is, that it will crash land on the planet. This is because its reentry will be an uncontrolled descent, with the spacecraft no longer capable of controlling itself to a target landing area like large bodies of water or unpopulated land.
On one hand, the ERS-2 satellite will not explode upon entry as its propellant tanks were already drained around a decade ago but also presents a control problem.
Europe's ERS-2 Satellite to Crash Land on Earth This Wednesday
ESA
The European Space Agency (ESA) addressed various questions behind the ERS-2 Satellite's return, with the spacecraft set to crash land on an unknown location on the planet. Its return was originally speculated around 15 years since it was last operated on by the ESA, setting the time for sometime around mid-February 2024.
According to Ars Technica, the specific date would be by Wednesday, February 21, and it is yet unknown what time this event would take place.
Moreover, the report said that one of the trade-offs for draining the European Remote Sensing 2 (ERS-2) satellite's propellant was not knowing where it would land, also doing so uncontrollably as there is no fuel to determine its trajectory and positioning it towards a safe, unpopulated area.
According to ESA, the reason behind draining the propellant tanks in 2011 was to minimize the risk of a massive explosion when its propellant would be heated from the famed "reentry burn." However, this also meant that there would be no controlling the spacecraft in this venture.
The ESA also said that it discharged the batteries to reduce the risk of fragmenting and breaking up into smaller pieces, having them fall into areas with people.
Europe's ERS-2 Satellite
Landing a spacecraft back to the planet is best known to be making its way to the oceans so that there would be minimal risk of crashing onto a person or bringing damage to structures or properties in populated areas. Moreover, it has been the traditional practice since then, with last year's landing of the NASA Rhessi satellite which successfully got back on the surface.
However, companies like SpaceX popularized the rocket feature that centers on reusability, and not only does it promote sustainability and lower costs for launching missions to space, but it also focuses on easier retrieval. It is important to note that SpaceX's renowned Falcon 9 can land on a drone ship off the coast, one of the many highlights of its missions.
While the idea behind bringing back spacecraft from orbit or other off-world locations is a good idea to reduce space garbage problems, there are still challenges in doing so. The upcoming return of the ERS-2 satellite will commence this Wednesday, but the problem remains on where it will land, as the ESA and its team do not know where also have no chance to control its descent.
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