re-entry

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  • Achtung: German satellite to crash down tonight, won't land in Germany

    by 
    Tim Stevens
    Tim Stevens
    10.22.2011

    As if it weren't hard enough keeping your house safe from debt collectors these days, now you have something else to worry about: a falling German satellite called ROSAT. The German Aerospace Center has estimated that the hunk of decommissioned, extra-orbital metal will enter the atmosphere sometime between 7:30pm ET tonight and 1:30am ET tomorrow. It's unknown whether any of the thing will survive re-entry, but the 1.7 ton telescope mirror onboard very well may, striking the surface at a hasty 17,398MPH. The agency doesn't know where it will fall, but did reassuringly say that it won't hit Europe -- German scientists basically telling the rest of the world to spend all night worrying while they doze away, peacefully. At least it won't be taking any of its orbital brethren with it... Update: Looks like it landed in the Indian Ocean on Saturday night.

  • Japanese spacecraft's 'black box' recorder survives flaming fall to earth

    by 
    Christopher Trout
    Christopher Trout
    04.02.2011

    When we reported on Japan's plans to track the re-entry process of its Kounotori 2 spacecraft with a black-box-style recorder, there were still some unanswered questions: specifically, would the REBR (Re-entry Breakup Recorder) sink or swim. Well, according to an announcement from the device's creator, the thing not only survived the fiery plunge to Earth, but it also stayed afloat after plunking down in the South Pacific Ocean on Tuesday. During free fall, the REBR did as it was expected, automatically monitoring, recording, and eventually transmitting data about the re-entry process, and while the thing was admittedly "not designed to survive impact with the water," it continued relaying information even after landing. The next scheduled REBR mission is planned for June -- here's hoping the new guy's as buoyant as its buddy. Full PR after the break.

  • Japan sends Kounotori 2 spacecraft on suicide mission to study re-entry process

    by 
    Christopher Trout
    Christopher Trout
    03.29.2011

    An unmanned cargo ship built by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) is set to go up in flames tomorrow in the name of interplanetary research. Along with a load of space station junk, the Kounotori 2 spacecraft is packing something akin to a black box, also known as a Re-entry Breakup Recorder (REBR), that will collect and transmit data about the ship's final moments. The space station's crew will activate the REBR before Kounotori 2 begins its final assignment. As soon as it starts showing signs of re-entry, the sensor will begin to collect data including temperature, acceleration, and rotation rate, and will then break away from the craft for a final free fall to Earth, at which point the REBR will dump its findings. Scientist hope the device will help answer questions about exactly what happens when things fall apart during re-entry. If all goes according to plan, the REBR will plunk down in the ocean sometime later, but its host will never be seen again... farewell, Kounotori 2.