An uncontrolled 2,200kg (5,000lb) space craft will enter the Earth’s atmosphere on Wednesday 21st February at around 11.15 GMT however there is a 15 hour window of uncertainty. This space craft is not Chinese it’s European.
The uncertainties of when and where The European Remote Sensing 2 (ERS2) will land are complicated by solar activity which can alter the density of the upper parts of the atmosphere which means that predicting where it will land are to say the least difficult.
ERS2 was launched in April 1995 by the European Space Agency (ESA). At the time it was the most advanced Earth observation satellite. The mission finished in 2011. It was estimated it would re enter in 2024.
The problem is that ESA did not save a small amount of fuel to control the space craft on its last orbit of the Earth before it re entered the atmosphere. This means that it will enter in an unguided way. In other words the experts are not sure where the space craft will land.
In all probability it will land in the ocean as over 70% of the surface of the Earth is covered by water. However you can be sure that there will be many concerned eyes watching the sky on Wednesday morning.
www.theramblingastronomer.co.uk
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