As of today, February 22nd, 2024, the news about the bus-sized satellite crashing into Earth is no longer breaking news. The event actually occurred yesterday, on February 21st, when the European Space Agency's ERS-2 satellite re-entered the atmosphere and disintegrated over the North Pacific Ocean.
However, I can still provide you with information about the event:
Here are some key facts:
- The satellite, ERS-2, was roughly the size of a school bus and had been decommissioned in 2011 after a successful 16-year mission studying Earth's land, oceans, and polar caps.
- Its uncontrolled re-entry was monitored by space agencies worldwide, but its exact landing zone could only be predicted within a large area encompassing much of the Pacific Ocean.
- Upon re-entry, the satellite mostly burned up due to friction with the atmosphere, with any remaining fragments likely landing harmlessly in the vast ocean.
- Experts estimated the odds of any debris causing harm to be extremely low, around 1 in 1.5 billion.