Re-Entry: China’s AX-1 SmallSat
The Chinese AX-1 satellite re-entered the atmosphere on September 29, concluding a three-month mission to test out innovative navigation technology.
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Month: September 2016
Re-Entry: Long March 2F Rocket Stage from Tiangong-2 Launch
The second stage of a Chinese-2F rocket re-entered the atmosphere on September 29, 2016 after launching the Tiangong-2 Space Laboratory into orbit.
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SpaceX Rocket Parts Rain Down over Indonesia
Large rocket parts rained down over a pair of small Indonesian islands on Monday when the second stage of a Falcon 9 rocket launched earlier this year fell from orbit and, at least to some extent, survived the fiery re-entry over the island of Java.
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Re-Entry: Detla II – Payload Assist Module
The Payload Assist Module of a Delta II rocket that launched the Navstar 52 GPS navigation satellite into orbit in 2003 re-entered the atmosphere on September 25, 2016 after well over a decade spiraling down from Medium Earth Transfer Orbit.
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Re-Entry: Flock 2B-5
Planet Labs’ Flock 2B-14 satellite re-entered the atmosphere on September 12, 2016 after 11 months in orbit, collecting Earth imagery that Planet Labs offers on the commercial market.
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Re-Entry: Soyuz Rocket Stage from Resurs Imaging Satellite Launch
The third Stage of the Soyuz 2-B rocket that launched the Resurs-P3 Earth Observation satellite re-entered the atmosphere off the cost of North Africa on September 24, 2016 after spending half a year in orbit.
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Re-Entry: Flock 2B-1
Planet Labs’ Flock 1B-1 satellite re-entered the atmosphere on September 22, 2016 after nearly one year in orbit, collecting Earth imagery that Planet Labs offers on the commercial market.
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Re-Entry: Flock 2B-7
Planet Labs’ Flock 1B-7 satellite re-entered the atmosphere on September 21, 2016 after nearly one year in orbit, collecting Earth imagery that Planet Labs offers on the commercial market.
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Re-Entry: Ariane 4 Rocket Stage
The Cryogenic Upper Stage from an Ariane 44L launch in the 1990s re-entered the atmosphere in September 2010 after slowly spiraling down from a highly elliptical Geostationary Transfer Orbit.
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Re-Entry: Flock 2B-14
Planet Labs’ Flock 2B-14 satellite re-entered the atmosphere on September 12, 2016 after 11 months in orbit, collecting Earth imagery that Planet Labs offers on the commercial market.
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Re-Entry: NASA’s PAGEOS 1 Inflatable Sphere
NASA’s PAGEOS 1 satellite meet its fiery end in September 2016 after five decades in orbit. PAGEOS stands for Passive Geodetic Earth Orbiting Satellite and represents a large inflatable sphere with a maximum diameter of 30.48 meters to serve as a tracking target for geodetic purposes.
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Re-Entry: DRAGONSAT
DRAGONSAT, a 1U University CubeSat operated by Drexel University, re-entered the atmosphere on August 31, 2013 after nearly three years in orbit.
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