(Credit: ESA)
Satellites are usually designed to orbit the Earth for years, if not decades. But the European Space Agency is sending up a satellite it plans to destroy almost immediately.
The unusual mission is intended to understand what happens to satellites when they burn up during atmospheric re-entry, which can cause space objects to reach temperatures up to 5,000°F as they hurtle toward Earth.
It’s long been known that the plunge pulverizes satellites and other space debris. “Yet for such a ubiquitous event, we still lack a clear view on what actually happens to a satellite during its fiery last moments,” the ESA says.
As a result, the space agency developed the Draco mission, which stands for Destructive Reentry Assessment Container Object. The plan is to send up a unique satellite carrying a capsule designed to survive the high temperatures of atmospheric re-entry.
The 15-inch capsule, outfitted with 200 sensors and four cameras, will then collect data as the satellite falls back to Earth and begins to disintegrate. If all goes well, the capsule will survive the descent and then parachute into the ocean.
“Once the parachute is deployed, the capsule will be coming down more gently, allowing it to connect to a geostationary satellite above to transmit the collected data,” the ESA adds. “There will be about a 20-minute window to send the telemetry before it splashes down into the ocean, ending the mission.”
Draco is part of the space agency’s goal to prevent the creation of new space debris by 2030. Companies such as SpaceX say their satellites have already been designed to completely burn up during re-entry, making them no threat to Earth. Still, the ESA says the Draco capsule promises to supply unique data that could help aerospace companies ensure future satellites will fully “demise” when sent back to Earth, making them easy to retire.
The Draco mission will also examine what effect a disintegrating satellite can have on Earth’s atmosphere. Some scientists have already expressed worries that retired satellites, like those from SpaceX’s Starlink, can release harmful chemicals that damage the Earth’s Ozone layer when they burn up during re-entry.
The plan is to send up the Draco satellite in 2027 through an Ariane 6 rocket. The satellite, which will weigh around 200 kilograms and be about the size of a washing machine, will be in space for less than 12 hours before it returns to Earth. The ESA has already signed a €3 million ($3.3 million) contract with a Spanish company called Deimos to develop the first stage of the mission.
To further understand how satellites burn up in the atmosphere, the ESA also sent a team of scientists on a plane earlier this month to observe a falling satellite during re-entry.