The Cygnus re-supply vehicle, which delivers cargo to the International Space Station, burning up in the atmosphere during its reentry. (Image credit: ESA/Alexander Gerst) By Tereza Pultarova, Published by Space.com, 15 March 2024 The environmental impacts of spaceflight are becoming increasingly clear as more and more spacecraft are launched into
By Passant Rabie, Published by Gizmodo, 11 March 2024 After three years of uncontrolled descent, the 2.9-ton cargo pallet has finally fallen to Earth. On Friday, March 8, a pallet of used batteries from the International Space Station (ISS) reentered Earth’s atmosphere over the Gulf of Mexico following an unpredictable
ISS batteries orbital ground track (8 March) (ESA) Published by The European Space Agency, 8 March 2024 UPDATE (8 March, 11:00 CET): The reentry of the ISS batteries is now expected between approximately 15:35 CET and 22:25 CET on 8 March. Original text (7 March, 20:00 CET): The European Space Agency
In 2021, astronauts on the space station jettisoned this equipment pallet. The space junk has been orbiting Earth for the last few years. It most likely made its reentry on March 8, 2024, over the Pacific. Some fragments should have survived to hit the ocean. Image via NASA/ Jonathan McDowell on
The atmospheric reentry process generates extreme heat and mechanical loads, which lead to the satellite's disintegration at the altitude of about 45 miles. (Image credit: ESA) By Marianne Guenot, Published by Business Insider, 2 March 2024 Spacecraft burning up in the atmosphere are leaving behind metal particles. Scientists are racing
SpaceX's Starship/Super Heavy vehicle to perform the first 2024 orbital launch attempt once the FAA awards a license to the company. Credit: SpaceX By Eric Berger, Published by arsTechnica, 22 February 2024 As SpaceX nears its first Starship launch of 2024—possibly as soon as within three weeks—from its Starbase facility
Illustration of ERS-2 in space. The precise timing and location of its re-entry were difficult to predict. Photograph: ESA/PA By Hannah Devlin, Published by The Guardian, 21 February 2024 ERS-2 breaks up into pieces and plummets into the ocean after reentering Earth’s atmosphere An uncontrolled satellite re-entered the Earth’s atmosphere
A composite image showing rows of Starlink satellites awaiting deployment into low Earth orbit in front of a picture of Earth taken from the International Space Station. (Image credit: SpaceX via X) By Brett Tingley, Published by Space.com, 14 February 2024 There are still well over 5,000 operational Starlink satellites
