Satellite will fall to Earth tomorrow and experts don't know where it will crash

A MAJOR satellite is expected to crash into Earth's atmosphere tomorrow, but scientists are unsure where it will land.

The European Space Agency's ERS-2 satellite was launched in 1995 for Earth observation research.

This is an artistic illustration of the satellite, which was launched in 1995Credit: SWNS

This photo was taken of ERS-2 on January 28, 2024Credit: SWNS

ERS-2's Earth observation duties were halted in 2011, when the ESA emptied its fuel tank to lower its altitude and protect its hardware from colliding with other operational satellites.

When the satellite was first launched, it weighed 2,516 kg.

Now, without the fuel, it tips the scales at about 2,294 kg (5,057 pounds) – that's slightly heavier than a male rhino or a Tesla Model X.

Despite its large size, most of the satellite is expected to burn up as it enters the atmosphere.

There's still a chance the 115-pound antenna will remain intact and crash land somewhere on Earth.

The ESA decided to deorbit the satellite to try to reduce the amount of space debris.

This included 66 maneuvers which used up the craft's remaining fuel.

It was then in a lower orbit and there was less danger of collisions with other objects in space.

The ESA was unsure when the satellite would fall back to Earth.

It was suspected sometime within 15 years, and according to The next webit is now 13 years later.

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The ESA now predicts that the satellite will fall to Earth on February 21.

There is always some degree of risk when it comes to space objects shooting towards Earth.

Even if the satellite doesn't burn up completely in the atmosphere, there's still no reason to panic.

According to the ESA, the chance of someone being struck by space debris each year is less than one in 100 billion.

There is a good chance that all the debris will end up in the ocean, since about 70 percent of the Earth is covered by water.