ESA's ERS-2 Satellite Makes Uncontrolled Return To Earth After 29 Years In Orbit. Know Why

ESA's ERS-2 made an uncontrolled re-entry into Earth's atmosphere on February 21 after spending almost 30 years in orbit. This was a 'natural' re-entry. The satellite operated in space for 16 years.

The reason why ERS-2 was deorbited is that this was the only way it could have been made to re-enter Earth. Had the satellite stayed in its original orbit, it would have led to the creation of more space debris, and could have collided with other spacecraft.

Source : ESA

The European Space Agency's (ESA) European Remote Sensing 2 satellite (ERS-2), which was launched on April 21, 1995, returned to Earth tonight (February 21, 2024). The satellite made an uncontrolled re-entry into Earth's atmosphere at 17:17 UTC (10:47 pm IST) after spending almost 30 years in orbit. This was a 'natural' re-entry. The satellite successfully operated in space for 16 years. In 2011, ESA decided to end ERS-2's operations and de-orbit the satellite. The space agency made ERS-2