ESA reentry expertise
Every week, on average, a substantial, inert satellite drops into our atmosphere and burns up. Monitoring these reentries and warning European civil authorities has become routine work for ESA’s space debris experts.
Each year, about 100 tonnes of defunct satellites, uncontrolled spacecraft, spent upper stages and discarded items like instrument covers are dragged down by Earth’s upper atmosphere, ending their lives in flaming arcs across the sky.
Some of these objects are big and chunky, and pieces of them survive the fiery reentry to reach the surface. Our planet, however, is a big place, mostly covered by water, and much of what falls down is never seen by anyone, sinking to the bottom of some ocean, or landing far from human habitation.
While still in orbit, these and many other objects are tracked by a US military radar network, which shares the data with ESA, since Europe has no such capability of its own.It’s the task of ESA’s Space Debris team to look at these data and issue updates to ESA Member States and partner civil authorities around the globe.
Visit http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Operations/Space_Debris/ESA_reentry_expertise to learn more
Very interesting montage. Is it possible to view the entire interview with Dr. Holger Krag? A quick search on ESA's website has not turned anything up.
Happy Easter!
Looking forward to the China's space station re-entry in the coming days, I only hope it's recorded in 4K.
Omg :S
This is my image and short video of Tiangon 1 I took from my backyard in Manorville, NY USA http://spaceweathergallery.com/indiv_upload.php?upload_id=142049
What is up with the psychotic music?
This just in. The sky is falling somewhat later than expected. Everyone feel free to take 5 and then get back to crouching under your desk. Don't forget to hold on to your chihuahua. Anyway, if it isn't Skylab, Mir, or Columbia, one of two Chinese knockoff space stations that will get you, it'll be an asteroid or Donald Trump. Don't worry, be happy.
we waiting for raport from chile,argentina or altantic sea.. Tiangong crash 2 hour ago.
This was made specifically for the tiangong 1 re entry