British satellite ready to fall to Earth
.After accomplishing a groundbreaking mission to map global winds, a British-built spacecraft is expected to descend to Earth later on Friday. The remarkable Aeolus satellite utilised cutting-edge laser technology to trace air movements at various locations and altitudes worldwide.
The success of this transformative mission has already sparked plans for successor satellites. However, the journey to get Aeolus up and running was far from smooth, and the project faced significant challenges. Engineers wrestled with the task of developing an ultraviolet instrument capable of withstanding the harsh vacuum of space for over a decade. This struggle earned Aeolus the title “the impossible satellite” as it appeared daunting to make it functional.
But the perseverance and ingenuity of the team paid off, leading to an immensely valuable and successful mission in studying our planet’s winds.
