European satellite dodges potential collision with unknown piece of space debris

On Wednesday, August 31, European earth observation satellite Sentinel-1A was forced to dodge out of the path of an unknown piece of space debris lurking in orbit, the European Space Agency said.

The ground teams executed larger-than-normal collision avoidance manoeuvres on the Copernicus Sentinel-1A satellite to reduce the risk of collision. According to the agency, the operators carried out 6 thruster burns to take the satellite over 1.5 km clear of the object's estimated location at 17:48 CEST and return it back to its nominal orbit.

Things that go bump in the night… Last night, our teams confirmed a successful #CollisionAvoidance manoeuvre for @CopernicusEU’s Sentinel-1A.The satellite was forced to dodge out of the path of an “unknown” piece of #SpaceDebris lurking in orbit.#Sentinel1 🛰️ pic.twitter.com/KglyTAiLsH

— ESA Operations (@esaoperations) September 1, 2022

"This piece of debris can’t yet be traced back to the event that first produced it. The uncertainties on the object's position were also higher than usual. We had to make larger-than-normal manoeuvres to be safe," the agency tweeted, adding that Sentinel-1A will also lose some data.

This means more of an impact on the mission…Operators carried out 6 thruster burns to take Sentinel-1A over 1.5 km clear of the object’s estimated location at 17:48 CEST and return it back to its nominal orbit.The satellite will lose some data: https://t.co/7oaJ7bZu4I pic.twitter.com/5foQPLVzyH

— ESA Operations (@esaoperations) September 1, 2022

Sentinel-1A was the first satellite to be launched for Copernicus - the Earth observation component of the European Union's space programme. The earth observation satellite was launched into orbit on 3 April 2014 on a Soyuz rocket from Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana and carries an advanced radar instrument to provide an all-weather, day-and-night supply of imagery of Earth's surface.