ISRO preps for re-entry experiment of decommissioned satellite; know how it will be done

ISRO is set to undertake what it calls a "challenging experiment" which will involve reentering a decommissioned low Earth-orbiting satellite. satellite in question is Megha-Tropiques-1 (MT1), which was launched into on October 12, 2011, as a collaborative project between ISRO and CNES, a French ncy. 

satellite, which aimed to collect data for tropical wear and climate studies, was originally meant to complete a 3-year-long mission. neless, it went on to serve ISRO and support climate models for over a dece, according to a reout available on website of ISRO. 

w, ncy aims to perform a controlled re-entry of 1000 kg satellite on March 7, 2023, under guidelines issued by Inter-ncy Debris Coordination Committee (UN/IC) as object reaches its end of life after years of being in service.

"UN/IC debris mitigation guidelines recommend deorbiting a LEO (Low Earth Orbit) object at its end-of-life, preferably through controlled re-entry to a safe impact zone, or by bringing it to an orbit where orbital lifetime is less than 25 years. It is also recommended to carry out “passivation” of on-board energy sources to minimise risk of any post-mission accidental break-up," res statement. 

What will  re-entry constitute? 

ISRO is w preparing for a fully controlled re-entry into atmosphere which will impact an abandoned and safe region in Pacific Ocean. area lies between 5°S to 14°S latitude and 119°W to 100°W longitude of ocean. Operations like such involve deorbiting objects at low altitudes in order to make sure that impact only takes place at a specified location. 

Most of times, large satellites are well equipped to experience re-entry as y reach ir end of life. However, MT1 is t necessarily designed for such operations, thus making exercise difficult to perform. process for re-entry has been underway since last year, with 18 orbit maneuvers done since August in order to lower orbit. After carefully analyzing challenges such as visibility and ground impact, final step of entire mission will be executed between 16:30 IST to 19:30 IST on Tuesday.