{"id":15778,"date":"2024-02-20T07:46:32","date_gmt":"2024-02-20T07:46:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/2024\/02\/20\/a-5000-pound-satellite-is-expected-to-fall-to-earth-this-week\/"},"modified":"2024-02-20T07:46:32","modified_gmt":"2024-02-20T07:46:32","slug":"a-5000-pound-satellite-is-expected-to-fall-to-earth-this-week","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/2024\/02\/20\/a-5000-pound-satellite-is-expected-to-fall-to-earth-this-week\/","title":{"rendered":"A 5,000-pound satellite is expected to fall to Earth this week"},"content":{"rendered":"
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A European Space Agency satellite is expected to reenter and largely burn up in Earth\u2019s atmosphere on Wednesday morning. <\/p>\n

The agency\u2019s Space Debris Office, along with an international surveillance network, is monitoring and tracking the Earth-observing ERS-2 satellite, which is predicted to make its reentry at 6:14 a.m. ET Wednesday, with a 15-hour window of uncertainty. The ESA is also providing live updates on its website. <\/p>\n

\u201cAs the spacecraft\u2019s reentry is \u2018natural\u2019, without the possibility to perform manoeuvers, it is impossible to know exactly where and when it will reenter the atmosphere and begin to burn up,\u201d according to a statement from the agency. <\/p>\n

The exact time of the satellite\u2019s reentry remains unclear due to the unpredictability of solar activity, which can change the density of Earth\u2019s atmosphere and how the atmosphere tugs on the satellite. As the sun nears its 11-year cycle\u2019s peak, known as solar maximum, solar activity has been ramping up. Solar maximum is expected to occur later this year. <\/p>\n

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Related article<\/span> \u2018Odie\u2019 lunar mission takes off, aiming for historic US moon landing<\/span> <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The sun\u2019s increased activity already had an impact on speeding up the reentry of the ESA\u2019s Aeolus satellite in July 2023. <\/p>\n

The ERS-2 satellite has an estimated mass of 5,057 pounds (2,294 kilograms) after depleting its fuel, making it similar in size to other space debris that reenters Earth\u2019s atmosphere every week or so, according to the agency. <\/p>\n

At around 50 miles (80 kilometers) above Earth\u2019s surface, the satellite is expected to break apart and the majority of the fragments will burn up in the atmosphere. The agency said that some fragments could reach the planet\u2019s surface, but they won\u2019t contain any harmful substances and will most likely fall into the ocean. <\/p>\n

ERS-2\u2019s backstory<\/h3>\n

The Earth-observing ERS-2 satellite first launched on April 21, 1995, and it was the most sophisticated satellite of its kind at the time to be developed and launched by Europe. <\/p>\n

Along with its twin, ERS-1, the satellite collected valuable data on the planet\u2019s polar caps, oceans and land surfaces and observed disasters like flooding and earthquakes in remote areas. The data gathered by ERS-2 is still used today, according to the agency. <\/p>\n

In 2011, the agency decided to end the satellite\u2019s operations and deorbit it, rather than adding to the swirl of space junk orbiting the planet. <\/p>\n

The satellite executed 66 deorbiting maneuvers in July and August of 2011 before the mission officially concluded later that year on September 11. The maneuvers burned through the rest of the satellite\u2019s fuel and decreased its altitude, setting ERS-2\u2019s orbit on a trajectory to slowly spiral closer to Earth and reenter the atmosphere within 15 years. <\/p>\n

The chances of an individual person being injured by space debris each year are less than 1 in 100 billion, about 1.5 million times lower than the risk of being killed in an accident at home, according to the agency. <\/p>\n\n

This post appeared first on cnn.com<\/div>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A European Space Agency satellite is expected to reenter and largely burn up in Earth\u2019s atmosphere on Wednesday morning. The agency\u2019s Space Debris Office, along with an international surveillance network, is monitoring and tracking the Earth-observing ERS-2 satellite, which is predicted to make its reentry at 6:14 a.m. ET Wednesday, with a 15-hour window of <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":15779,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-15778","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15778","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15778"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15778\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15779"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15778"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15778"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15778"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}