{"id":788114,"date":"2024-08-30T09:47:31","date_gmt":"2024-08-30T14:47:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/?p=788114"},"modified":"2024-08-30T09:47:31","modified_gmt":"2024-08-30T14:47:31","slug":"esa-cluster-satellite-to-reenter-in-early-september","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/?p=788114","title":{"rendered":"ESA Cluster Satellite to Reenter in Early September"},"content":{"rendered":"


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The first of a set of groundbreaking Cluster satellites is set for a controlled reentry next week.<\/em><\/p>\n

The European Space Agency is paving the way in controlled reentry technology. ESA recently announced that plans to terminate the first of four Cluster satellites is about to come to fruition in early September, with the reentry of Salsa.<\/p>\n

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The Reentry<\/h2>\n

Salsa is one of four dance-themed Cluster satellites. The other three are Rumba, Samba and Tango. ESA controllers used the remaining thruster fuel on the spacecraft back in January to lower the perigee of the mission down to around 100 kilometers, which will assure destructive reentry for the 550 kilogram satellite over the South Pacific on or around September 8th<\/sup>. The area the satellite will meet its demise is known as \u2018Point Nemo\u2019 or the Pacific Ocean Uninhabited Area. The region has seen several large reentries over the years, including the Mir space station and ESA\u2019s Automated Transfer Vehicle. The region will likely see the demise of the International Space Station sometime around 2030.<\/p>\n

Salsa\u2019s final reentry track. Credit: ESA<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cBy studying how Salsa burns up, which parts might survive, for how long and in what state, we will learn much about how to build \u2018zero debris\u2019 satellites,\u201d says Tim Flohrer, (ESA-Space Debri Office) in a recent press release. <\/p>\n

\"EStrack\"
ESA\u2019s Malarguee tracking station in Argentina. Credit: ESA<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A Pioneering Mission<\/h2>\n

ESA designed the Cluster mission to explore space weather interactions with the Earth\u2019s magnetic environment as the four spacecraft fly in a tetrahedral configuration through the planet\u2019s magnetosphere. The four spacecraft fly out to a distant apogee of about 117,000 kilometers (over three times farther out versus geosynchronous orbit), and orbit the Earth once every 54 hours.<\/p>\n

\"Reentry\"
Anatomy of Cluster-Salsa\u2019s orbital trajectory and reentry. Credit: ESA<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Launched in the summer of 2000, the Cluster satellites had a 5-year nominal mission, which lasted well over two decades. The missions have since proven to be pioneers in space weather research. The mission also escaped glitches and software failures over the years, including a bug requiring a \u201cdirty hack\u201d in 2010. Cluster II was also a replacement for the original set of Cluster satellites, which were lost on the inaugural launch of the Ariane-5 rocket on June 4th<\/sup>, 1996 from the Kourou Space Center. The mission ended in an explosion 37 seconds after liftoff. <\/p>\n

\"Cluster
Cluster satellites in the clean room at Baikonur ahead of encapsulation and launch. Credit: ESA<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Controlling Reentries<\/h2>\n

This sort of \u2018targeted reentry\u2019 for a long duration mission is one of the first of its kind for ESA. The zero-debris conclusion to the mission exceeds international standards. Furthermore, it also addresses issues surrounding the mitigation of debris in low Earth orbit. On Earth, ESA\u2019s worldwide Estrack network will follow Salsa during its final orbits, and an airborne campaign is underway to spot the final reentry. ESA made a similar effort to image the Aeolus satellite in 2023, shortly before reentry.<\/p>\n