Later today, a discarded battery pack from the ISS will crash to Earth’s surface. No parts of the space debris will probably hit Germany – its path to Earth could still be visible in the sky.
A bang could be heard in parts of Germany in the afternoon. Maybe it will light up in the sky like a shooting star. Behind these possible phenomena is a discarded battery pack from the international space station ISS. After almost three years in space, the scrap is expected to hit Earth later today.
Before the battery set enters the earth’s atmosphere, it will fly over Germany several times, according to the Federal Office for Civil Protection (BBK). On the authority’s website three possible routes published:
First, the space debris could fly over the Federal Republic around 5 p.m. – on a trajectory from Saarland via Rhineland-Palatinate, Hesse, Thuringia to Saxony. About an hour and a half later, the battery pack crosses Germany again – and could fly over North Rhine-Westphalia, Saxony-Anhalt and Saxony again. Finally, the scrap could fly over Germany a third time on its way to the earth’s surface around 8 p.m. However, this esteemed route only touches the southern part of Baden-Württemberg and a small part of Bavaria.
Scrap is probably crashing over North America
According to calculations by the German Aerospace Center, it is very unlikely that parts of the battery pack will fall in Germany. In all likelihood, the scrap will enter the atmosphere in northern North America. It is impossible to say exactly when the space debris will hit the Earth’s surface – the DLR has calculated a corridor of 20 hours around Friday evening Central European Time for possible re-entry. The scrap could only cross Germany on Saturday.
Despite the very low risk of danger, the BBK sent out an official danger warning on Thursday via several warning apps. But the authority also assumes that it is “very unlikely” that parts of the battery pack will fall in the Federal Republic. “If, contrary to expectations, there are indications that Germany is affected,” there will be a further warning, it said.
A bang or a glow
But even if the space debris does not hit Germany, it could be heard or seen if the space debris flies over the Federal Republic. According to the BKK, a sonic boom could be heard in the affected regions or there could be flares.
The former president of the European Space Agency (ESA) also does not rule out the possibility that the scrap can be seen in the sky. In an interview with the dpa news agency, he said:
Batteries like to burn. I assume that the package will almost completely burn up in the atmosphere. Maybe you will see the disassembly as a beautiful shooting star.
Crash as “Debris Trail”
The platform with battery packs was deliberately separated from the ISS in March 2021 in order to enter the atmosphere years later. The object is about the size of a car and weighs 2,600 kilograms.
But the battery pack will not “fall as a compact individual part in a very narrow area,” said the former head of ESA’s space safety program. After it enters the Earth’s atmosphere at an approximate altitude of 100 kilometers, it will disintegrate and the individual parts will probably fall to the Earth’s surface as a “trail of debris.”