European satellite GOCE to enter dense atmospheric layers within three weeks
MOSCOW. Oct 22 (Interfax-AVN) - The European research satellite GOCE launched in 2009 to study the Earth's gravitational field has spent its fuel and will soon enter dense atmospheric layers, head of the European Space Agency (ESA) Moscow office Rene Pischel told Interfax-AVN on Monday.
The ESA thinks this may happen within two or three weeks, he said.
The satellite spent its fuel on the early morning hours of Monday, and the ESA declared its mission accomplished, Pischel said.
The agency expects the satellite, which weighs over one tonne, to fall into pieces during its descent to Earth. Yet certain fragments may reach the surface. The potential drop zone will be announced later.
The ESA has lowered the satellite's orbit in order to improve the quality of data transmitted by its payload twice. The first orbit adjustment was done in August 2012 and recorded by the United States Space Surveillance Network. The satellite was even listed in the catalogue of objects, which were supposed to fall to Earth within 60 days. The information was corrected later.
GOCE was launched with a Russian Rokot rocket from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome on March 17, 2009 to study the influence of the Earth's gravitational field on oceanic currents, fluctuations of oceanic water levels, and climate. Its service period was initially set at 20 months.