spacetoday.net: Contact lost with Envisat

Contact lost with Envisat

Posted: Fri, Apr 13, 2012, 9:54 AM ET (1354 GMT)
Envisat illustration (ESA)

The European Space Agency (ESA) confirmed Thursday that it has lost contact with its Envisat earth observing satellite. ESA announced in a statement that contact with Envisat was unexpectedly lost on April 8, and has yet to be restored. The loss of communications raises concerns that the spacecraft could be lost permanently. The spacecraft appears to be intact and stabled, based on radar images of it taken from the ground. ESA launched Envisat in 2002 on what was planned to be a five-year mission, but the spacecraft has more than doubled that lifetime. ESA hoped to keep Envisat operational through the launch of the first Sentinel earth observing satellites in 2013 and 2014.