The European Space Agency (ESA) has decided to pull the plug on a weather satellite. In a first in history, the space agency decided to bring the satellite down to Earth in a planned manner. This prevented the weather instrument from becoming space junk.
A first in space history: Planned satellite landing in the Atlantic
A weather probe called Aeolus was launched by ESA in 2018. It was developed to monitor wind patterns from space using advanced laser technology. The 1360 kg spacecraft ran out of fuel in recent months.
Normally, satellites in orbit enter the atmosphere uncontrollably when they reach the end of their operational life. This can be dangerous for both space and Earth. However, ESA has decided to land Aeolus on Earth in a planned manner.
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As part of the landing program that took place last Friday, Aeolus was lowered to Earth in a controlled manner. The landing, which took place at the ESA Control Center in Germany, resulted in its disintegration in the Atlantic Ocean.
The controlled crash of the satellite into the ocean reduced the risk of debris hitting populated areas. It also prevented it from becoming “garbage” by being left in space. Previously, many organizations such as NASA had complained about the presence of unused satellites in space.
Holger Krag, ESA’s Head of Space Safety, described this program as a turning point in space history. ESA will analyze the data from the satellite landing program and land other satellites in the coming years.
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