LeoLabs Provides Tracking Support for ESA's Historic Aeolus Reentry

LeoLabs Provides Tracking Support for ESA's Historic Aeolus Reentry

LeoLabs, one of the leading commercial providers of Space Traffic Management (STM) and Space Situational Awareness (SSA) services,  shared their support for the European Space Agency's (ESA) successful assisted reentry of Aeolus, an Earth observation satellite, over Antarctica on 28 July 2023.

This assisted reentry was considered the "first-of-its-kind" because the satellite, named Aeolus, was not designed for a controlled reentry when launched by ESA in 2018. ESA successfully performed a series of maneuvers between July 24 and July 28, 2023, to lower the satellite's orbit from an altitude of 320 km to 120 km, positioning Aeolus over a planned Atlantic ground track to prevent any remaining debris following its atmospheric reentry from causing harm. Without these actions, Aeolus would have experienced an uncontrolled reentry, increasing the risk of space debris falling onto habitable areas.

LeoLabs supported this mission as a tracking partner, receiving ephemeris data prior to and after each maneuver from ESA Mission Control. This data was used by LeoLabs to task its global radar network to track the satellite, helping ESA verify and monitor orbital changes after each de-orbit maneuver.

"ESA values the support provided by LeoLabs during the Aeolus re-entry, which contributed to a novel ending for the mission that successfully reduced space debris and enabled a safe re-entry," said Tommaso Parrinello, ESA Aeolus Mission Manager, "By testing space tracking capabilities for assisted and controlled re-entries, we're one step closer to achieving sustainable space."

This partnership served as a successful test of LeoLabs' object tracking capabilities in very low Earth orbit (VLEO), which includes altitudes below 400 km. LeoLabs was able to demonstrate its ability to reliably track objects in VLEO. This is difficult due to several factors, including higher aerodynamic drag and stronger gravitational pull on the object while in orbit. By illustrating these capabilities, LeoLabs builds confidence in the ability of satellite owners/operators to safely deorbit objects; the final, critical stage of future active-debris removal missions.

"LeoLabs is proud to support this groundbreaking effort by ESA," said Edward Lu, LeoLabs Co-founder, and Chief Technology Officer, "It represents a milestone towards making space safer and more sustainable, illustrating how responsible behavior by owner/operators can normalize space safety measures and contribute to growing expertise in active debris removal."

Click here to learn about LeoLabs Collision Avoidance Services.


Publisher: SatNow
Tags:-  SatelliteLEOGround

GNSS Constellations - A list of all GNSS satellites by constellations

beidou

Satellite NameOrbit Date
BeiDou-3 G4Geostationary Orbit (GEO)17 May, 2023
BeiDou-3 G2Geostationary Orbit (GEO)09 Mar, 2020
Compass-IGSO7Inclined Geosynchronous Orbit (IGSO)09 Feb, 2020
BeiDou-3 M19Medium Earth Orbit (MEO)16 Dec, 2019
BeiDou-3 M20Medium Earth Orbit (MEO)16 Dec, 2019
BeiDou-3 M21Medium Earth Orbit (MEO)23 Nov, 2019
BeiDou-3 M22Medium Earth Orbit (MEO)23 Nov, 2019
BeiDou-3 I3Inclined Geosynchronous Orbit (IGSO)04 Nov, 2019
BeiDou-3 M23Medium Earth Orbit (MEO)22 Sep, 2019
BeiDou-3 M24Medium Earth Orbit (MEO)22 Sep, 2019

galileo

Satellite NameOrbit Date
GSAT0223MEO - Near-Circular05 Dec, 2021
GSAT0224MEO - Near-Circular05 Dec, 2021
GSAT0219MEO - Near-Circular25 Jul, 2018
GSAT0220MEO - Near-Circular25 Jul, 2018
GSAT0221MEO - Near-Circular25 Jul, 2018
GSAT0222MEO - Near-Circular25 Jul, 2018
GSAT0215MEO - Near-Circular12 Dec, 2017
GSAT0216MEO - Near-Circular12 Dec, 2017
GSAT0217MEO - Near-Circular12 Dec, 2017
GSAT0218MEO - Near-Circular12 Dec, 2017

glonass

Satellite NameOrbit Date
Kosmos 2569--07 Aug, 2023
Kosmos 2564--28 Nov, 2022
Kosmos 2559--10 Oct, 2022
Kosmos 2557--07 Jul, 2022
Kosmos 2547--25 Oct, 2020
Kosmos 2545--16 Mar, 2020
Kosmos 2544--11 Dec, 2019
Kosmos 2534--27 May, 2019
Kosmos 2529--03 Nov, 2018
Kosmos 2527--16 Jun, 2018

gps

Satellite NameOrbit Date
Navstar 82Medium Earth Orbit19 Jan, 2023
Navstar 81Medium Earth Orbit17 Jun, 2021
Navstar 78Medium Earth Orbit22 Aug, 2019
Navstar 77Medium Earth Orbit23 Dec, 2018
Navstar 76Medium Earth Orbit05 Feb, 2016
Navstar 75Medium Earth Orbit31 Oct, 2015
Navstar 74Medium Earth Orbit15 Jul, 2015
Navstar 73Medium Earth Orbit25 Mar, 2015
Navstar 72Medium Earth Orbit29 Oct, 2014
Navstar 71Medium Earth Orbit02 Aug, 2014

irnss

Satellite NameOrbit Date
NVS-01Geostationary Orbit (GEO)29 May, 2023
IRNSS-1IInclined Geosynchronous Orbit (IGSO)12 Apr, 2018
IRNSS-1HSub Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (Sub-GTO)31 Aug, 2017
IRNSS-1GGeostationary Orbit (GEO)28 Apr, 2016
IRNSS-1FGeostationary Orbit (GEO)10 Mar, 2016
IRNSS-1EGeosynchronous Orbit (IGSO)20 Jan, 2016
IRNSS-1DInclined Geosynchronous Orbit (IGSO)28 Mar, 2015
IRNSS-1CGeostationary Orbit (GEO)16 Oct, 2014
IRNSS-1BInclined Geosynchronous Orbit (IGSO)04 Apr, 2014
IRNSS-1AInclined Geosynchronous Orbit (IGSO)01 Jul, 2013