The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) successfully de-orbited a satellite following the completion of its mission. Megha-Tropiques-1, which ISRO safely deorbited after completing its task, was launched into Low Earth Orbit (LEO) in October 2011. Megha Trophiques-1 burnt up and disintegrated over the Pacific Ocean, bringing it down from its orbit.
The decommissioned Megha-Tropiques-1 (MT-1) satellite underwent a controlled re-entry experiment that was “very demanding,” according to ISRO. ISRO said the satellite would have re-entered Earth’s atmosphere and exploded over the Pacific Ocean. Tropical weather and climate studies will be conducted with the satellite, which weighs about 1,000 kg.
Megha-Tropiques-1, a collaborative mission created by ISRO and the French space agency CNES for tropical weather and climate investigations, was launched into Low Earth Orbit (LEO) on October 12, 2011. The mission was initially only supposed to run for three years, but it was later extended since it kept sending vital climate data for ten years.
Towards the conclusion of the mission life, Isro intentionally destroyed the satellite as part of its obligation to the United Nations Inter-Agency Space Debris Coordination Committee (UNIADC). According to UN recommendations, the satellite should be deorbited at the end of its useful life, preferably via controlled re-entry into a safe impact zone or by placing it in orbit with an orbital lifetime of fewer than 25 years.
Towards the conclusion of the mission life, Isro intentionally destroyed the satellite as part of its obligation to the United Nations Inter-Agency Space Debris Coordination Committee (UNIADC). According to UN recommendations, the satellite should be deorbited at the end of its useful life, preferably via controlled re-entry into a safe impact zone or by placing it in orbit with an orbital lifetime of fewer than 25 years.
Megha-Tropiques-1 reportedly still had roughly 125 kg of fuel aboard, which was thought to be enough to complete a perfectly controlled atmospheric re-entry.
India has raised concerns about the problems caused by the space debris that surrounds the Earth, including how it has made observations challenging and even raised the danger of collisions in zero gravity.
