NASA satellite deactivated in 2005 falls to Earth

A former satellite retired by NASA (United States space agency) – the Earth Radiation Budget Satellite (ERBS) – Fell to Earth early Monday morning (9), after nearly forty years in space. The object orbited Earth for more than half that time, until it was officially disabled on October 14, 2005.

The object, a 2.5-ton rock, re-entered Earth’s atmosphere at a point over the Bering Sea between Alaska and Siberia, according to the U.S. Department of Defense. Although the US space agency is betting that the object will burn completely during its fall, parts of the structure resisted and possibly fell into the oceanwithout any record of damage or injury.

The ERBS’s estimated lifespan was only two years, but it was operating normally in Earth orbit. Until a few days after completing 21 years of launch from Cape Canaveralon October 5, 1984.

What was the ERBS satellite doing in Earth orbit?

When it took off aboard the fascinating space shuttle Challenger in 1984, ERBS received three instruments, two to measure the balance of solar energy absorbed and emitted by Earth, and a third to evaluate stratospheric components such as ozone and water. steam, nitrogen dioxide and aerosols.

HE IS terrestrial radiation budget It represents an important determinant of the health of the climate (for which the moon is named), and its correct assessment can be useful in establishing climate models of the planet. Measurements of ozone concentrations in the stratosphere serve to assess levels of protection against hazardous ultraviolet radiation.

The information gathered by ERBS’s Aerosol and Stratospheric Gas Experiment II (SAGE II) was necessary to inform the world. dramatic depletion of the ozone layer on a global scale at that time. The data guided the formulation of the Montreal Protocol Agreement, an international agreement determining the reduction in the use of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) worldwide.