The meteorological satellite, Aeolus, which was preparing its return to Earth, has varied its trajectory in an unpredictable way. The European Space Agency studies movements in this regard.
With an orbit height of 320 km and a track record of five years in space, the satellite Aeolus faces a critical challenge. The European Space Agency (ESA), vigilant against any irregularityhas detected an unexpected variation in the satellite trajectorywhich has raised legitimate concerns about their potential relegation zone.
The satelite Aeolus, launched by ESA in 2018, has been a major mission to study and measure winds in the Earth’s atmosphere. During its time in orbit, Aeolus has provided vital data to improve the accuracy of global weather forecasts.
However, its operational life is nearing its end and as a result, mission controllers in Germany have been hard at work planning and executing their controlled return to Earth.
July 24or, it was expected that Aeolus reached 280 km altitude, at which time maneuvers would be carried out to direct the satellite towards a trajectory back to our planet. The process would end with a controlled reentry scheduled for July 28when Aeolus It will be located at 120 km of altitude to begin its descent.
However, its direction would have varied erratically. Aeolus today has an unpredictable trajectory, according to the dailydegranada. Something that alarms against an uncalculated impact. The plan was, at an approximate altitude of 80 km, that most of the satellite would burn, far from urban centers.
It must be said that, as a general rule, uncontrolled satellite re-entries hardly pose a risk to the populationalthough there is a possibility that part of the pieces survive incineration and fall to Earth.
What benefits has Aeolus provided to weather centers?
Aeolus was primarily designed for measure and study the winds in the earth’s atmosphere from a spatial perspective. Its goal is to provide valuable data to improve the accuracy of global weather forecasts, along with other european satellites.
The data collected by Aeolus have been Critical to improving the accuracy of global climate forecasts. Information about winds in the upper atmosphere has been especially valuable in predicting major weather events and understanding long-term weather patterns. We will be watching the ESA announcements before its return to Earth.
