ESA made CryoSat satellite maneuver to avoid space debris

The ESA successfully ordered the CryoSat 2 satellite to perform an evasive maneuver to avoid a collision with an unknown object. Preparations are now being made to get the satellite back into orbit around the Earth.

On Monday, the ESA decided to change the orbit of the CryoSat 2 satellite to avoid a possible collision with a piece of space debris. The chance of a collision increased to 1 in 10,000 and therefore a collision avoidance maneuver was performed. The satellite’s engines were ignited to position the satellite slightly higher in the atmosphere. The object eventually flew under CryoSat 2 without any problems, at a distance of 120 meters.

This is the second time this year that ESA’s control room has had to intervene in CryoSat 2’s orbit to prevent a possible collision with space debris. Since the launch of the satellite in 2010, such an evasive maneuver has taken place fourteen times. Due to the relative speeds of up to 28,000 km/h, space debris can cause considerable damage to, for example, satellites or space capsules.

At the time of writing, the space agency is working on the commands to CryoSat 2 to get back into Earth orbit on Thursdayso that the satellite can resume its scientific mission. These kinds of maneuvers consume quite a bit of fuel and that shortens the final length of the mission, as the fuel is normally also needed to make course corrections.

Launched in April 2010, CryoSat 2 provides scientists with information about the Arctic ice sheet. The satellite can detect changes in the thickness of the ice. CryoSat 2 is the successor to the first CryoSat satellite, which was lost at launch in 2005. The Rokot launcher it used was unable to launch the first CryoSat satellite into orbit because the command to shut down the engine of the second rocket stage was not part of the flight control system. As a result, this second stage could not be disengaged and the rocket with the satellite fell back to Earth.