ERS2

Fraunhofer FHR’s radar tracking of ESA’s ERS-2 satellite revealed crucial structural changes before re-entry, enhancing understanding of satellite disintegration and aiding in more accurate future predictions. Credit: Fraunhofer FHRESA’s ERS-2 satellite successfully reentered Earth’s atmosphere after nearly 30 years in orbit, with its final moments tracked by Germany’s Fraunhofer Institute. The unexpected detachment of its solar array provided crucial data for improving satellite reentry predictions.Following a hugely…

Radar image of the satellite ERS-2 from February 19, 2024: Solar module intact. Credit: Fraunhofer FHRThe European Space Agency (ESA) and the joint Space Situational Awareness Centre commissioned Fraunhofer FHR to accompany the re-entry of the retired ERS-2 satellite. With its unique space observation radar TIRA (Tracking and Imaging Radar), the final orbits were measured with high precision and the last images of ERS-2 were generated. For the first time, changes in the structure during re-entry were captured in…

ERS-2 was launched in 1995, four years after ERS-1, the first European Remote Sensing satellite. At the time, these two satellites were the most sophisticated European Earth observation spacecraft ever developed, delivering new information to study Earth’s land, oceans, atmosphere, and polar ice, as well as being called upon to monitor natural disasters such as earthquakes and floods. In 2011, the mission was retired and the spacecraft was reorbited into a safe disposal orbit in compliance with ESA space-debris mitigation…

ERS-2, a satellite that revolutionized our perspective of our planet and understanding of climate change, was launched in 1995. After 13 years of orbital decay, mainly driven by solar activity, the satellite will now naturally reenter Earth’s atmosphere. ERS-2 is now expected to undergo atmospheric reentry and begin to break up on February 21, 2024. Credit: ESAERS-2 is expected to undergo atmospheric reentry and begin to break up today.Throughout its 16-year working life, the second European Remote Sensing satellite,…