Satellite Crashes Into Earth’s Atmosphere
The satellite was studying Earth's land, oceans and polar caps
A school bus sized satellite crashed into Earth’s atmosphere today. The ERS-2 satellite entered Earth’s atmosphere over the North Pacific Ocean between Alaska and Hawaii at 12:17 ET. Most of the satellite burned up during re-entry.
The exact time of the satellite’s reentry had been unclear. The European Space Agency released a statement saying, “As the spacecraft’s reentry is ‘natural’, without the possibility to perform maneuvers, it is impossible to know exactly where and when it will reenter the atmosphere and begin to burn up.”
The ERS-2 launched on April 21, 1995 and ended its operation in 2011. The satellite was studying Earth’s land, oceans and polar caps.
