The final images of the Aeolus satellite have been revealed by the ESA through an animation. In the animation, the satellite can be seen trailblazing as it reaches its fiery demise.
Aeolus Wind Satellite's Final Moments
The European Space Agency (ESA) revealed the animation on September 5. The animation is based on the last eight images of the Aeolus wind satellite.
The consolidated shots reveal the tumbling of the satellite upon interaction with the atmosphere of the Earth at a speed that is nearly orbital. Tommaso Parrinello, the Aeolus Mission Manager, explains that these images serve as a farewell to the historic mission that they miss.
The colors show the radar signal intensity as these signals bounced off the satellite. To produce the shots, the TIRA radar antenna, which has a diameter of 34 meters, was used by the Fraunhofer Institute in Germany to track the satellite for roughly four minutes on August 28. This was shortly before the spacecraft got its final instructions to descend orbit and switch its instruments off.
The spacecraft was then swiftly dragged down by the atmosphere of the Earth. This led it to reenter the planet after two hours.
Roughly 80% of the satellite is perceived to have reached its fiery demise, while the remaining 20% survives its reentry and landing over Antarctica.
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Historic Aeolus Mission
The Aeolus was the first spacecraft designated to monitor terrestrial winds and offer data regarding meteorology and climate studies.
During its death, the satellite became the record-holder for the first to attempt to perform an assisted reentry. The spacecraft was instructed to maximize its leftover fuel to lower down its orbit and passively switch off.
The reentry operation was performed in order to try out novel approaches to reduce the risk of debris entering the Earth. During the novel reentry of the Aeolus, which is the first of its kind, the debris risk was reduced by as much as a factor of 150. More than that, the duration in which the satellite was uncontrolled during orbit was reduced by a couple of weeks. This limited its risk of colliding with other satellites.
These methods that were tested during the spacecraft's reentry will aid with end-of-life programs and plans that future missions may focus on.
Aeolus was first launched on August 22, 2018. It only carried one huge instrument with it, the Doppler wind lidar that gauged winds around the planet. This wind lidar served as the first one that has entered space.
The craft went beyond expectations and its planned orbital life span as it spent a total of five years in orbit. The Aeolus mission officially ended last July 28.
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