On Wednesday afternoon, CNN reported, “A European Space Agency satellite re-entered Earth's atmosphere over the North Pacific Ocean…” “According to the European Space Agency, there have been no reports of damage.”
The agency's Space Debris Task Force, along with the International Monitoring Network, monitored and tracked the Earth observation satellite ERS-2 throughout February in anticipation of its reentry, which occurred Wednesday at 12:17 p.m. ET. ESA provided continuous live updates on its website. At about 50 miles (80 kilometers) above the Earth's surface, the satellite was expected to break apart due to atmospheric drag, with most of the debris burning up in the atmosphere.
The agency said that while some of the debris may have reached the planet's surface, the debris contained no harmful substances and likely fell into the ocean. The estimated mass of the ERS-2 satellite was 5,057 pounds (2,294 kilograms). after running out of fuel, the agency said. “Uncontrolled atmospheric reentry has long been a common method for disposing of space objects at the end of a mission,” Tim Froehler, director of the agency's Space Debris Office, said in a statement. “Objects similar in size to ERS-2 or larger are seen re-entering the atmosphere multiple times each year.”
The Earth observation ERS-2 satellite was first launched on April 21, 1995, and at the time was the most sophisticated satellite of its kind developed and launched by Europe. In 2011, the agency decided to end the satellite's operations. Rather than add to the vortex of space junk orbiting Earth, we deorbit it. The satellite performed her 66 deorbit operations in July and August 2011, and the mission officially ended on her September 11th later that year. This maneuver burned the satellite's remaining fuel, lowered its altitude, and set ERS-2's orbit in a slow spiral. It will approach Earth and re-enter the atmosphere within 15 years.
The agency says the chance that an individual will be injured by space debris each year is less than 1 in 100 billion, and the risk of dying from a domestic accident is about 1 in 1.5 million.