Update from Heiner Klinkrad, Head of ESA’s Space Debris Office at ESOC, which is closely monitoring the GOCE re-entry.

Space observation radar TIRA (Tracking and Imaging Radar) Credit: Fraunhofer FHR

Space observation radar TIRA (Tracking and Imaging Radar) Credit: Fraunhofer FHR

With recent orbit data from this morning, based on TIRA radar measurements and GOCE satellite-to-satellite tracking, augmented with orbit data from international partners of the Inter-Agency Space Debris Coordination Committee (IADC), the re-entry of the satellite can be predicted with an accuracy of about plus or minus 2 orbits.

The re-entry is expected to occur between 18:30 UTC – 24:00 UTC, Sunday, 10 November (19:30 CET – 01:00 CET, Sunday to Monday, 10/11 November); the most probable impact ground swath largely runs over ocean and polar regions.

With a very high probability, a re-entry over Europe can be excluded.