Re-Entry: Sylda

January 8, 2017January 10, 2017 Patrick Blau 2998 Views

A discarded Ariane 5 Sylda payload adapter placed into orbit in 2007 re-entered the atmosphere on January 7, 2017 after a nine-and-a-half-year drop from a highly elliptical Geostationary Transfer Orbit, having helped put a pair of communications satellites into orbit.

NORAD ID: 32020
Origin: ESA (France)
Object: Ariane 5 DEB (Sylda)
Type: Ariane 5 Sylda Payload Adapter
Mass: Up to 535kg
Inclination: 2.3°
Launched: August 14, 2007 – 23:44 UTC
Launch Vehicle: Ariane 5 ECA
Launch Site: ELA-3, Guiana space Center

Re-Entry Prediction: January 7, 2017 – 13:14 UTC +/-120 Min.

Re-Entry Zone: Unknown

Launched the Spaceway 3 and BSAT-3A Satellites