European experts follow satellite reentry

ESA closely monitored the 24 September reentry of the UARS observation satellite. The Agency’s Space Debris Office worked with NASA and international partners in a coordinated prediction and risk-assessment exercise.
 
NASA's non-operational Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS) reentered Earth's atmosphere on 24 September 2011 between 05:23 and 07:09 CEST. The precise reentry time and location of debris impacts from the 5.6-tonne satellite have not been determined. No injuries or damage have been reported.
Since the beginning of the space age, there has been no confirmed report of an injury resulting from reentering space objects.

"Atmospheric drag reduced the satellite's speed from 27 000 km/hr such that the remaining fragments might have reached the surface at just 200 km/hr," said Prof. Heiner Klinkrad, Head of ESA's Space Debris Office.  
 
ESA central to international tracking exercise
 
The reentry was closely monitored by ESA experts working with international partners in a technical body known as the Inter-Agency Debris Coordination Committee (IADC).

ESA also communicated regular updates to European civil protection authorities.
 
 
IADC is an inter-agency forum for the worldwide coordination of activities related to the issues of man-made and natural debris in space. Member agencies include ESA, NASA, European national agencies and the Russian, Chinese, Canadian, Japanese, Ukrainian and Indian space agencies.

In recent years, IADC members have developed a data communication network specifically supporting hazardous reentry risk assessment, which allows the exchange of tracking data and the refinement of reentry predictions in the event of an expected reentry.

Provided by ESA