Humongous rogue European satellite spotted hurtling through space
Envisat, a massive European satellite that lost contact with the ground earlier this month has been photographed by a French satellite.
On 15 April, the French space agency CNES rotated the Pleiades Earth observation satellite to capture this image of Envisat. At a distance of about 100 km, Envisat’s main body, solar panel and radar antenna were visible.
CNES
A massive European satellite the size of a school bus that has mysteriously stopped communicating with Earth has been spotted by another satellite in orbit.
Skip to next paragraph
The giant Envisat satellite, which is the world's largest imaging satellite for civilian use, was photographed in stunning detail by a French spacecraft that is also designed to snap high-resolution images of Earth, officials with the European Space Agency (ESA) said Friday (April 20).
The photo of Envisat in space reveals that the $2.9 billion spacecraft is intact and that its huge solar array is deployed. Envisat is a huge satellite that weighs about 17,600 pounds (8,000 kilograms). It is about 30 feet long (9 meters) and 16 feet wide (5 m), not counting the solar wing.
ESA satellite operators lost contact with the 10-year-old Envisat on April 8 and have been trying to revive the spacecraft ever since. As part of that rescue effort, ESA officials asked their international partners for aid in investigating the giant satellite's malfunction, and the French space agency CNES volunteered time with its new Pleiades spacecraft. [See Envisat's photos of Earth]
Like Envisat, Pleiades is an Earth-watching satellite designed to snap high-resolution images of the planet. Pleiades launched in December and is designed for use by military and civilian customers.
Pleiades snapped its detailed view of Envisat on April 15, when the two spacecraft passed within 62 miles (100 kilometers) of one another. ESA engineers are using photos from the encounter to determine if Envisat's solar array, which is 16 feet wide (5 m) and 46 feet long (14 m), is actually oriented in the right position.
If Envisat is in the right position, with its solar array collecting enough sunlight to power onboard systems, then it is possible that the satellite is in a protective state known as "safe mode," ESA officials said. That could make it possible to revive the satellite, they added.
"We are really grateful to CNES for offering to acquire images of Envisat using their Pleiades and Spot satellites," said Volker Liebig, ESA’s Director of Earth Observation Programs, in a statement. "Additional observations being acquired across the globe show how the international space community has come together to track this veteran satellite."
These comments are not screened before publication. Constructive debate about the above story is welcome, but personal attacks are not. Please do not post comments that are commercial in nature or that violate any copyright[s]. Comments that we regard as obscene, defamatory, or intended to incite violence will be removed. If you find a comment offensive, you may flag it.