Posted on 11/10/2013 6:42:16 AM PST by BarnacleCenturion
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. -- A satellite about the size of a Volkswagen van is on its way back down to Earth. The over one ton satellite is expected to crash land sometime Sunday night or Monday morning. But at this point, it's not clear where.
(Excerpt) Read more at abclocal.go.com ...
Oh thanks.
I appreciate this.
The orbit appears to be kind of erratic. The last pass over the equator in the eastern hemisphere was only about 103 km in altitude. This time looks like it will be a few miles higher.
Whatever enjoy ignorance.
“The European Space Agency’s (Esa) Goce satellite has re-entered the Earth’s atmosphere, burning up in the process.
“Early estimates suggested any surviving debris could have fallen somewhere along a path through East Asia and the Western Pacific to Antarctica.”
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-24894611
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-24894611
European Space Agency’s Goce satellite falls to Earth
The European Space Agency’s (Esa) Goce satellite has re-entered the Earth’s atmosphere, burning up in the process.
Early estimates suggested any surviving debris could have fallen somewhere along a path through East Asia and the Western Pacific to Antarctica.
Dubbed the “Ferrari of space” because of its sleek looks, Goce is the first Esa mission to make an uncontrolled re-entry in more than 25 years.
The gravity mapping probe’s plunge was inevitable once it ran out of fuel.
The mission was operating in an extremely low orbit - at 224km altitude, the lowest of any scientific satellite - and needed to constantly thrust an electric engine to stay aloft, but last month its fuel reserves were exhausted.
Pre-return modelling had indicated that perhaps a fifth to a quarter of Goce’s one-tonne mass could have endured the fiery fall through the atmosphere.
Follow the ground track of ESA’s GOCE Earth Explorer mission, launched 17 March 2009.
GOCE mission operations ended on 11 November 2013.
When I reset the link it posted:
It was headed up near the top of the Antarctic heading over into Russia. Hope no one gets hit anywhere.
Thanks for the info and updates.
bbc:
Goce was last observed at 22:42 GMT on Sunday as it passed 121km (75 miles) above Antarctica,
It has fuel and thrusters to direct its destructive dive towards the vast and uninhabited waters of the Southern Ocean, east of New Zealand.
The Inter-Agency Space Debris Coordination Committee - the global forum on “space junk” - chose Goce as its special study project for 2013.
Goce geoid (Esa) Goce’s principal objective was to make maps of the variation in the pull of gravity across the Earth
This meant a large number of tracking and surveillance facilities around the world were activated to monitor the satellite’s descent to Earth.
More detailed information is therefore likely to emerge in the coming hours and days on exactly where and when any materials struck the surface of the planet.
Arrrrgh!!
I meant Artic!!
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