A HUGE satellite has crashed back to Earth today after scientists controlled its re-entry.
The European Space Agency’s Aeolus satellite has been on a mission to map Earth’s winds since 2018.
European Space AgencyThe European Space Agency guided the satellite into the Atlantic Ocean[/caption]
It was almost out of fuel and was initially supposed to fall back to Earth naturally.
The satellite is technically not designed for a controlled re-entry, so scientists had to try an unprecedented move with what little fuel was left.
The plan was for the satellite to reach 93 miles above Earth and then the controlled entry would begin.
It was hoped the satellite will enter somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean.
Then, it was supposed to burn up while re-entering Earth’s atmosphere.
Following a huge round of applause in the ESA’s briefing room, the agency confirmed that Aeolus landed almost exactly where they expected it to.
The scientists said that more information from their space debris experts would be forthcoming, but for now, “everything is normal,” adding “the night is young!”
The ESA has been giving nail-biting updates throughout the day.
At 8 am ET it confirmed spacecraft operations manager Viet Duc Tran told flight director Isabel Rojo: “All commands are onboard as planned.”
“It was an understated sentence, for a big moment at the end of this mission,” the ESA noted.
Then, at 9:57 am ET, the ESA added: “And now, the very last words have been sent up to Aeolus, the last time it will hear the voice of ESA mission control, Earth’s final farewell.
“What were they? Your standard ‘house keeping’ data dumps.
“After all the drama of today, the last words Aeolus heard from Earth is the same as what it heard every of its five years in orbit – a little ping, a little check in, and soon its on its own.”
Even though the satellite was expected to burn up, there was still debris to analyze.
The risk of this hurting anyone was extremely low.
You’re more likely to be hit by a meteorite than falling space debris.