N° 35–2023: Media invitation: Learn more about the reentry of Aeolus
11 July 2023
Teams at ESA’s European Space Operations Centre in Darmstadt, Germany, are busy preparing to attempt a first-of-a-kind assisted reentry. Media representatives are invited to attend online media briefings on 19 and 20 July to learn more about the mission reentry, which is expected towards the end of July.
ESA’s wind mission Aeolus will soon reenter Earth's atmosphere. Currently orbiting 320 km above Earth's surface, it is being kept in orbit with its remaining fuel. This fuel is running out, and the satellite will soon succumb to Earth’s atmosphere and gravity.
Analysis carried out by ESA and industry experts has demonstrated that Aeolus can reenter through an assisted approach (i.e. semi-controlled), in an attempt that will reduce the (already very small) risk of damage from any fragments that survive the journey and reach the ground.
A series of commands and manoeuvres have been designed that, over a period of about a week, will passivate the spacecraft (deactivate power systems and batteries) and direct it and any remaining fragments at the sea.
If no intervention is made from the ground, Aeolus would return entirely naturally – now a common occurrence as on average one spacecraft reenters Earth’s atmosphere per month.
ESA teams are going above and beyond what the satellite was technically designed to do in order to align with the current ambitious ESA strategy for space debris mitigation and space safety.
The measures being taken are on a best-effort basis to further reduce any risk. They have been designed so that they could not possibly increase the risk, but, if successful will retroactively bring Aeolus in line with current space safety regulations, that were not in place at the time the mission was designed.
About Aeolus
Launched on 22 August 2018, Aeolus is the first satellite mission to acquire profiles of Earth’s wind on a global scale.
Aeolus carries an instrument known as ALADIN, which is Europe’s most sophisticated Doppler wind lidar flown in space. A laser fires pulses of ultraviolet light towards Earth’s atmosphere, and a receiver detects the light that is scattered back from air molecules, water molecules, and aerosols such as dust.
Thanks to subtle changes in the properties of the light that is received, we can measure how quickly these particles travel away from Aeolus - the speed of the wind.
Aeolus data are now used by major weather forecasting services worldwide, including the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF), Météo-France, the UK Met Office, Germany’s Deutscher Wetterdienst (DWD), and India’s National Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasting (NCMRWF).
Its many successes, including economic benefits valued at over €3.5 billion, mean that an operational follow-on mission called Aeolus-2 will be launched within a decade.
Pre-reentry press briefing – 19 July 11:45 CEST
Programme
11:45 CEST Welcome and short introduction of the speakers
11:50 CEST Presentations
12:30 CEST Q&A
12:45 CEST End of programme
Panelists:
· Simonetta Cheli, Director for Earth Observation
· Holger Krag, Head of the Space Safety Office
· Tommaso Parrinello, Aeolus Mission Manager
· Isabel Rojo, Aeolus Operations Director
A recording will be available afterwards.
Online questions and answers sessions in German, Italian, Spanish and French, as well as an interview and filming opportunity at ESOC are foreseen.
· Italian online briefing: 19 July, 14.00 CEST
· French online briefing: 19 July, 16.00 CEST
· German online briefing: 20 July, 10.00 CEST
· Spanish online briefing: 20 July, 12.00 CEST
· Media opportunity at ESOC, Darmstadt: 18 July, 9.00-11.00 CEST
The following ESA spokespeople and experts are available for interviews:
- Rolf Densing, Director of Operations, ESA
- Simonetta Cheli, Director for Earth Observation
- Tommaso Parrinnello, Aeolus Mission Manager
- Isabel Rojo, Aeolus Operations Director
- Viet Duc Tran, Spacecraft Operations Manager A
- Tim Flohrer, Head of the Space Debris Office
- Jens Lerch, Spacecraft Operations Manager B
- Benjamin Bastida-Virgili, Space Debris System Engineer
- Thomas Ormston, Spacecraft Operations Engineer
Registration
Please express interest by 17 July at 17:00 CEST , by selecting and completing the relevant form at https://blogs.esa.int/forms/esa-media-briefing-form, specifying which press briefing you would like to attend.
After registering, media will receive additional information and the link to join the online information session (WebEx platform/Teams) or further information regarding the media opportunities at ESA's ESOC facility.
More Information
Learn more about Aeolus at https://www.esa.int/Applications/Observing_the_Earth/FutureEO/Aeolus.
Contact
ESA Newsroom and Media Relations
Email: media@esa.int
Images
https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Missions/Aeolus/(result_type)/images
ESA's Photo Library for Professionals:
https://www.esa-photolibrary.com/
Terms and conditions for using ESA images:
www.esa.int/spaceinimages/ESA_Multimedia/Copyright_Notice_Images
For questions or more information related to ESA images, please contact directly spaceinimages@esa.int
Videos
https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Missions/Aeolus/(result_type)/videos
https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Sets/Aeolus_animations/(result_type)/videos
ESA's Video Library for Professionals:
https://www.esa.int/esatv/Videos_for_Professionals
Terms and conditions for using ESA videos: https://www.esa.int/spaceinvideos/Terms_and_Conditions
For questions or more information related to ESA videos, please contact directly spaceinvideos@esa.int
Social media
Follow ESA on:
Twitter: @esa @esaoperations @esa_aeolus
Instagram: Europeanspaceagency
Facebook: EuropeanSpaceAgency
YouTube: ESA
LinkedIn: European Space Agency - ESA
Pinterest: European Space Agency - ESA
About the European Space Agency
The European Space Agency (ESA) provides Europe’s gateway to space.
ESA is an intergovernmental organisation, created in 1975, with the mission to shape the development of Europe’s space capability and ensure that investment in space delivers benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world
ESA has 22 Member States: Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia and Slovenia are Associate Members.
ESA has established formal cooperation with four Member States of the EU. Canada takes part in some ESA programmes under a Cooperation Agreement.
By coordinating the financial and intellectual resources of its members, ESA can undertake programmes and activities far beyond the scope of any single European country. It is working in particular with the EU on implementing the Galileo and Copernicus programmes as well as with Eumetsat for the development of meteorological missions.
Learn more about ESA at www.esa.int