List of reentering space debris
This is a list of artificial objects reentering Earth's atmosphere by mass (see space debris). Such objects are often completely destroyed by reentry heating, but large enough objects or components can survive. Most of the objects which reenter are relatively small; larger objects have survived but usually break up into smaller pieces during reentry.[1][2][3]
An external tank floats away from the Space Shuttle orbiter. 134 of these tanks were brought into orbit and then released for re-entry (135 total orbital missions minus Challenger)
The External Tank for STS-1 is released from the Space Shuttle. This was a Standard Weight tank and was painted white
Debris from Salyut 7, which landed in Argentina in 1991
The list includes group entries for the 134 Space Shuttle external tanks used between 1981 and 2011. During Space Shuttle launches, the tanks reached space without reaching orbit and re-entered the atmosphere, breaking apart before impacting the ocean. The mass of those tanks varied throughout the years, as improvements made them lighter - successive modifications reduced their empty weight from approximately 77,000 pounds (35,000 kg) to approximately 58,500 lb (26,500 kg) for the Super Lightweight Tank used after 1998.[4] The tanks were also not necessarily completely empty when discarded.[5]
Many other launch systems have discarded spent stages into space, but not all stages go into orbit or even reach space (by passing the Kármán line). For example, the Space Shuttle side boosters did not reach space, as the highest altitude reached during their flight was only about 220,000 feet (67 km).
Examples of heaviest re-entering spacecraft or components
| Object | Owner | Mass | Reentry Date | Age[6] | Reentry type | Launch Date[6][7] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mir | Russia | 120,000 kg (260,000 lb) | 23 March 2001 | 15 years | Controlled | 20 February 1986 |
| Skylab[3] | USA | 69,000 kg (152,000 lb) | 11 July 1979 | 6 years | Partially Controlled | 14 May 1973 |
| Salyut 7/Cosmos 1686 | USSR | 40,000 kg (88,000 lb) | 7 February 1991 | 8 years | Uncontrolled | 13 May 1982 |
| S-II Stage / Skylab | USA | 36,200 kg (79,700 lb) | 11 January 1975 | 18 Months | Uncontrolled | 14 May 1973 |
| STS external tank (Standard Tank) | USA | 35,000 kg (77,000 lb) and remaining propellants | 1981 (1981–83) | Partially Controlled | ||
| Salyut 6/Cosmos 1267 | USSR | 35,000 kg (77,000 lb) | 29 July 1982 | 4 years | Controlled | 29 September 1977 |
| STS external tank (Lightweight Tank) | USA | 30,000 kg (66,000 lb) and remaining propellants | 1983 (1983–2003) | Partially Controlled | 1981-2011 | |
| STS external tank (Super Lightweight Tank) | USA | 26,500 kg (58,400 lb) and remaining propellants | 1998 (1998–2011) | Partially Controlled | 1981-2011 | |
| Long March 5B core (5B-Y1 flight) | China | 21,600 kg (47,600 lb) | 11 May 2020 | 6 days | Uncontrolled | 5 May 2020 |
| Long March 5B core (5B-Y2 flight) | China | 21,600 kg (47,600 lb) | 9 May 2021[8] | 9 days | Uncontrolled | 29 April 2021 |
| Long March 5B core (5B-Y3 flight) | China | 21,600 kg (47,600 lb) | 30 July 2022[9] | 6 days | Uncontrolled | 24 July 2022 |
| Long March 5B core (5B-Y4 flight) | China | 21,600 kg (47,600 lb) | 4 November 2022[10] | 4 days | Uncontrolled | 31 October 2022 |
| Cosmos 557 | USSR | 19,400 kg (42,800 lb) | 22 May 1973 | 11 days | Uncontrolled | 11 May 1973 |
| Salyut 5 | USSR | 19,000 kg (42,000 lb) | 8 August 1977 | 1 year 2 months | Controlled | 2 June 1976 |
| Salyut 1 | USSR | 18,900 kg (41,700 lb) | 11 October 1971 | 5 months 22 days | Controlled | 19 April 1971 |
| Salyut 3 | USSR | 18,900 kg (41,700 lb) | 24 January 1975 | 6 months 30 days | Controlled | 25 June 1974 |
| Salyut 4 | USSR | 18,900 kg (41,700 lb) | 2 February 1977 | 2 years 1 month | Controlled | 26 December 1974 |
| Apollo SA-5 Nose Cone | USA | 17,100 kg (37,700 lb) | 30 April 1966 | 2 years 3 months | Uncontrolled | 29 January 1964 |
| Apollo SA-6 CSM BP-13 | USA | 16,900 kg (37,300 lb) | 1 June 1964 | 4 days | Uncontrolled | 28 May 1964 |
| Apollo SA-7 CSM BP-15 | USA | 16,650 kg (36,710 lb) | 22 September 1964 | 4 days | Uncontrolled | 18 September 1964 |
| Cosmos 929 | USSR | 15,000 kg (33,000 lb) | 2 February 1978 | 6 months 16 days | Controlled | 17 July 1977 |
| Cosmos 1443 | USSR | 15,000 kg (33,000 lb) | 19 September 1983 | 6 months 17 days | Controlled | 2 March 1983 |
| CGRO[3] | USA | 14,910 kg (32,870 lb) | 4 June 2000 | 9 years | Controlled | 5 April 1991 |
| Phobos-Grunt[11] | Russia | 13,500 kg (29,800 lb) | 15 January 2012 | 2 months 6 days | Uncontrolled | 9 November 2011 |
| Pegasus 1 | USA | 10,297 kg (22,701 lb) [12] | 17 September 1978[13] | 13 years | Uncontrolled | 16 February 1965 |
| Pegasus 2 | USA | 9,058 kg (19,969 lb)[12] | 3 November 1979[13] | 14 years | Uncontrolled | 25 May 1965 |
| Tiangong-1 | China | 8,506 kg (18,753 lb) | 2 April 2018[14] | 6 years | Uncontrolled | 29 Sep 2011 |
| UARS[15] | NASA | 5,900 kg (13,000 lb) | 24 September 2011 | 20 years | Uncontrolled | 12 September 1991 |
| ROSAT[16] | DLR | 2,400 kg (5,300 lb) | 23 October 2011 | 21 years | Uncontrolled | 1 June 1990 |
See also
References
- "Largest Objects to Reenter". Center for Orbital and Reentry Debris Studies. Archived from the original on 2012-02-01. Retrieved 2012-01-22.
- Orbiting Debris: A Space Environmental Problem-Background Paper (PDF) (OTA-BP-ISC-72 ed.). U.S. Congress, Office of Technology Assessment. October 1990. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2012-01-22.
- Larsen, Francis Lyall, Paul B. (2009). Space law : a treatise ([Online-Ausg.]. ed.). Farnham, Surrey, England: Ashgate. pp. 114–121. ISBN 978-0-7546-4390-6.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - "SPACE SHUTTLE PROGRAM HISTORY | Spaceline".
- "NASA - The External Tank".
- For composite objects such as space stations, age and launch date are based on the first launched module.
- McDowell, Jonathan. "Launch Log". Jonathan's Space Page. Retrieved 20 December 2010.
- Clinch, Matt (2021-05-09). "China says its rocket debris landed in the Indian Ocean". CNBC. Retrieved 2021-05-09.
- Jones, Andrew (2022-07-30). "Long March 5B rocket stage makes fiery uncontrolled reentry over Indian Ocean". SpaceNews. Retrieved 2022-12-12.
- Jones, Andrew (2022-11-04). "Long March 5B rocket reenters over Pacific Ocean after forcing airspace closures in Europe". SpaceNews. Retrieved 2022-12-12.
- Amos, Jonathan (15 January 2012). "Phobos-Grunt: Failed probe 'falls over Pacific'". BBC.
- "World Civil Satellites 1957-2006". Space Security Index. Archived from the original on 18 July 2011. Retrieved 20 December 2010.
- McDowell, Jonathan. "Satellite Catalog". Jonathan's Space Page. Retrieved 20 December 2010.
- 18 Space Control Squadron. "18 SPCS on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
UPDATE: #JFSCC confirmed #Tiangong1 reentered the atmosphere over the southern Pacific Ocean at ~5:16 p.m. (PST) April 1. For details see www.space-track.org @US_Stratcom @usairforce @AFSpaceCC @30thSpaceWing @PeteAFB @SpaceTrackOrg
- Mullins, Justin; Marks, Paul (20 September 2011). "Hardy 6-tonne satellite falls to Earth". New Scientist. Retrieved 25 September 2014.
"This is the largest NASA satellite to come back uncontrolled for quite a while," says Nick Johnson, chief scientist for NASA's Orbital Debris Program Office at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas.
- Paul Marks (23 September 2011). "Second big satellite set to resist re-entry burn-up". New Scientist. Retrieved 25 September 2014.
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