ESA's Swarm avoids collision with big chunk of defunct satellite

Swarm, the European Space Agency's mission to unravel the mysteries of Earth's magnetic field, is made up of three satellites, A, B and C – affectionately known as Alpha, Bravo and Charlie. On August 4, Charlie was manoeuvred down to avoid collision with a big chunk of a defunct satellite, the mission team tweeted on Friday.

Last month, Alpha avoided a potential collision with a mystery piece of space junk when the satellite was climbing to escape the wrath of the Sun. The Swarm mission team, together with the Flight Dynamics team at ESA's mission control, planned and carried out an evasive action - called collision avoidance manoeuvre - at short notice.

Collision avoided! 💥 Never a dull day for @esaoperations, who have swerved Bravo, Alpha - and now Charlie - out of the way of #SpaceDebris in recent months. Yesterday, Charlie was manoeuvred down to avoid a big chunk of a defunct satellite 🫢🕹️🚀 But we're safe & back on track. pic.twitter.com/CR647AVfHN

— ESA Swarm mission (@esa_swarm) August 5, 2022

It's like trying to walk in a straight line through a crowded central London up there! Thankfully, @esa's Space Debris Office is on it, keeping #SwarmMission safe and sound so we can continue unravelling fundamental mysteries about our planet. 👉https://t.co/RFNc9mhYZu pic.twitter.com/eBoxwi1uWM

— ESA Swarm mission (@esa_swarm) August 5, 2022

Launched on 22 November 2013, ESA's Swarm satellite mission is dedicated to creating a highly detailed survey of the Earth's geomagnetic field and its temporal evolution as well as the electric field in the atmosphere, by using a satellite constellation that carries sophisticated magnetometers and other instruments.

Since the mission's launch, scientists have been analysing the satellites' data to gain new insight into many of Earth's natural processes, from space weather to the physics and dynamics of Earth's stormy heart.