European Space Agency satellite hurtling toward Earth

World News

By Jesse O’Neill

An out-of-control bus-sized satellite is expected to hurtle through Earth’s atmosphere Wednesday morning after spending nearly three decades in space observing the planet.

The European Space Agency’s defunct 5,550-pound ERS-2 satellite is expected to break into pieces and disintegrate upon arrival, which was expected around 11 a.m. EST Wednesday morning, according to the latest projections.

Any remaining fragments were expected to fall in the ocean, according to the ESA.

“The risks associated with satellite reentries are very low,” officials said.

It is “impossible” to know exactly when and where the free-falling satellite would enter the atmosphere because its reentry is “natural” and not being controlled by humans, the agency said.

ERS-2 was launched in 1995 as Europe’s then-most “sophisticated Earth observation spacecraft ever developed,” according to ESA.

It “collected a wealth of valuable data” about the oceans, continents and ice caps and monitored natural disasters in remote parts of the planet, officials said.

However, its mission ended in 2011 and it was taken out of orbit gradually over the past 13 years in preparation for its return to Earth.

Images of the satellite hurtling toward the planet were captured by HEO Robotics last week.