02/09/2026
214 views
2 likes
The Cluster mission danced its final dance as Tango reentered the atmosphere on 1 September, at 23:30:31 CEST. The end of the Cluster mission in 2024 turned into the start of the reentry data collection campaign. After four ‘targeted’ reentries, this is now a proven method of safe end-of-life disposal. It also enabled the repeated observation of the reentries by a plane full of scientists, creating a unique reentry data set that will improve our understanding of the destructive process and can inform the design of safer and more sustainable satellites in the future.
Ready to Tango
The ROSIE airborne observation team managed to observe both the Samba and the Tango reentry with 29 of the 30 instruments onboard their plane. Each experiment built on the lessons learned from the previous ones, fine-tuning the instruments and cameras, while the team back home improved the accuracy of the reentry prediction and resulting flight path.
For Tango, even the pilot of the plane supported this optimisation by banking the plane in just the right moment to let the team have the burning spacecraft streaking across the sky in their field of vision for a few seconds more. The scientists managed to observe Samba and Tango for about 50 seconds on average, tracking it across the skies.
Saying final goodbyes to Cluster
Shortly before Tango’s reentry, many team members of the flight control, mission and reentry teams were able to send a last command to Tango, each saying goodbye, until it was time for the spacecraft to reenter. About a quarter of an hour before reentry, its signal via Kourou ground station, sending telemetry until the end, was lost forever.
After 26 years, operations of the Cluster mission had come to an end, a milestone for the many people who dedicated significant parts of their life to the mission that greatly improved our understanding of Earth’s magnetosphere.
“This is a time when you realise that once you build something like the Cluster mission, you imbue it with a soul. The team have created something beautiful. We have seen its final act, but it is clear that the soul of the Cluster family will be around for plenty of time to come,” says Philippe Escoubet, Cluster Mission Manager at ESA.
Next up, Draco: reentry observations from the inside
A next goal for ESA’s reentry specialists is to witness a reentry from the inside and see exactly what happens, how, when and where, with reentry mission Draco.
Draco is scheduled for launch in 2027 with the purpose to go through a fiery reentry recording what exactly happens to the satellite. With over two hundred sensors, four cameras and an indestructible capsule to keep the collected data safe, Draco will offer a unique inside perspective of the destructive process.
“To top it off, our reentry scientists will be ready to board a plane once more to witness the event from below. With three practice runs under their belt, the team will be able to link the observations made from the plane to what’s happening within Draco at exactly that time,” says Stijn Lemmens, acting head of Space Debris.
“With the data from the Cluster and Draco reentries we will improve reentry models. This helps to better predict where objects will fall and how they affect the atmosphere, and we can build better satellites to further reduce the chance of any pieces reaching the ground and posing risks to people or infrastructure.”