Aeolus Satellite’s Historic Reentry: A Trailblazing Mission for Sustainability
In 2018, the European Space Agency(ESA) launched the Aeolus satellite(aka Atmospheric Dynamics Mission[ADM]), a space-based observatory designed to measure the earth’s wind profile from space. The satellite’s primary objective was to provide global observations of wind profiles from space, improving the accuracy of weather forecasts of wind profiles from space, improving the accuracy of weather forecasts and advancing our understanding of climate models. The Aeolus satellite has surpassed scientific expectations and exceeded its planned life in orbit, hailed as one of ESA’s most trailblazing missions.
The Aeolus satellite carries a single large instrument called a Doppler wind lidar, which measures the wind sweeping around our planet. This instrument is the first of its kind to acquire profiles of Earth’s wind on a global scale. The satellite’s observations have contributed to improving weather forecasts and climate models, enhancing our ability to predict and understand atmospheric phenomena.
Objectives of the Aeolus mission,
- Provision of accurate wind profiles throughout the troposphere and lower stratosphere eliminating a major deficiency in the Global Observing System.
- Provision of data for the study of the global atmospheric circulation and related features, such as precipitation systems, the El Nino and the southern Oscillation phenomena and stratospheric/tropospheric exchange.
The Aeolus satellite’s re-entry mission was a historic experiment in which the ESA conducted a controlled and guided re-entry. The satellite’s re-entry was carefully orchestrated to ensure its safe demise in the Earth’s atmosphere. This assisted re-entry, which involved re-orientating the satellite to keep it stable in the incoming winds, was a first-of-its-kind endeavor. The success of the Aeolus satellite’s re-entry campaign has significant implications for future spacecraft operations and sustainable spaceflight. It provides a template for safer and more controlled re-entry of satellites, reducing the risk of space debris and ensuring the long-term sustainability of space activities.
Subsystems involved in the re-entry phase,
- Propulsion System:
The propulsion system of the satellite was responsible for guiding the re-entry process. By controlling the satellite’s orientation and trajectory, the propulsion system ensured a controlled descent. The Aeolus satellite used hydrazine propulsion for its orbit maintenance and during re-entry phase.
2. Attitude Control System:
The attitude control system was responsible for maintaining the stability and orientation of the satellite during re-entry. The Spacecraft is equipped with three-axis stabilized with an AOCS which includes actuators and sensors. The orbit was maintained by 5 N hydrazine thrusters.
The following are the stages of the Aeolus satellite’s reentry phase:
Lowering the Orbit: The ESA performed an “assisted reentry” of the Aeolus satellite by lowering its orbit from an altitude of 320 km to just 120 km.
Atmospheric Entry: Once the satellite reached an altitude of 120 km, it began its descent into the Earth’s atmosphere
Controlled Reentry: The reentry was carefully controlled by the ESA, and teams were tasked with guiding Aeolus through part of its descent to reduce the risk of debris.
Crash Landing: The Aeolus satellite crashed back to Earth over a stretch of the Atlantic Ocean.
In conclusion, the reentry of the Aeolus satellite was a historic and pioneering mission that was carefully controlled by the European Space Agency (ESA) to reduce the risk of debris and make space safer and more sustainable. The satellite’s mission to study Earth’s winds and their influence on the planet’s climate and weather patterns has made significant contributions to the field of Earth observation. The controlled reentry of the Aeolus satellite is a testament to the ESA’s commitment to sustainability goals and making space exploration more sustainable. As we move forward, it is important to continue to prioritize sustainability and set net-zero goals to ensure that our exploration of space does not come at the cost of our planet’s health and well-being.
