In 2008, 13 years after ERS-2 launched, ESA adopted its first space debris mitigation policy to address the growing hazard that debris in Earth orbit poses to current and future space activities. […] Operators at ESA’s ESOC mission control in Darmstadt, Germany, planned and conducted a series of [66 deorbiting manoeuvres in July and August 2011 that used up the satellite’s remaining fuel and lowered its average altitude from 785 km to 573 km. Lowering the satellite into a denser layer of the atmosphere greatly sped up its orbital decay. ERS-2 was then completely ‘passivated’ in September 2011 – its batteries and pressurised systems were emptied or rendered safe.
ERS-2 visto da un altro satellite durante il rientro.
(altre foto nel link sotto)
The UK Space Agency recently worked with HEO to capture these images of ERS-2 during its descent. […] These images were captured during ‘flyby’ inspections, during which a satellite photographs an inactive spacecraft, rocket body, upper stage or uncontrolled space debris as it passes. […] These images were captured on 14 January, 28 January, 29 January and 3 February when ERS-2 was still at an altitude of over 300 km.
On 21 February 2024, it reached the critical altitude of around 80 km at which the atmospheric drag was so strong that it began to break into pieces. At approximately 18:17 CET (17:17 UTC) on Wednesday 21 February 2024, ESA’s ERS-2 satellite completed its atmospheric reentry over the North Pacific Ocean. No damage to property has been reported.
