Usually, when we send satellites into space we want them to stay there and to stay intact. That’s not the case with the European Space Agency’s (ESA) DRACO satellite though.
The Destructive Re-entry Assessment Container Object (DRACO) is intended to do exactly what its name suggests. In 2027, if everything goes according to the schedule, the DRACO satellite will launch to an altitude of 621 miles, then re-enter the atmosphere and disintegrate. On purpose. The satellite itself, which will be about the size of a washing machine, will burn up while the indestructible capsule at its core gathers all kinds of data on what happens to it.
The capsule will then splash down in the ocean, where it can be retrieved and its data analyzed to improve the re-entry capabilities of spacecraft that we don’t want to burn up on the journey home. “Re-entry science is an essential element of the design for demise efforts. We need to gain more insight into what happens when satellites burn up in the atmosphere as well as validate our re-entry models,” said ESA Head of Safety Holger Krag. “That’s why the unique data collected by DRACO will help guide the development of new technologies to build more demisable satellites by 2030.”
