European Space Agency Forecasts Return Date for Dead Satellite to Earth

It must descend since it ascended.

This week, a spacecraft that has been out of service for more than ten years is scheduled to return to Earth.

ERS-2, one of the first sophisticated Earth observation satellites operated by the European Space Agency, will return to Earth in a “natural” manner after 16 years in orbit. As of Sunday afternoon, the agency projects that the satellite will re-enter the atmosphere on Wednesday at approximately 10 a.m. ET.

Launched in 1995, the satellite was supposed to provide data for over 5,000 projects for the European Space Agency for three years, however it continued to function until 2011. Sea levels, air composition, and the planet’s melting polar ice were all monitored by the satellite.

The satellite was kept out of orbit for more than a century after the ESA carried out 66 de-orbiting procedures following its last photograph.

The government states that most of the 2.5-ton satellite will break up in Earth’s atmosphere. Even though the organization does not have a forecast for where the leftover debris will end up, it is most likely going to fall into a body of water.