"Early Demise: ERS-2 Satellite's Fiery Fall and Final Orbits Damage Revealed"

The European Space Agency's ERS-2 satellite re-entered the Earth's atmosphere earlier than predicted, with images showing it breaking apart before anticipated. The satellite's final orbits were tracked by the Fraunhofer Institute using the Tracking and Imaging Radar, revealing the solar array coming loose from the spacecraft. This unexpected behavior complicates re-entry trajectory predictions and will aid in forecasting the fate of other aging satellites, as ESA prepares for the upcoming re-entry of the Cluster spacecraft.