SPOT 2 satellite to be de-orbited next month

Spot Image and Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales (CNES, the French civil space agency) have decided to de-orbit SPOT 2 after 19 years of operation. Beginning on July 1, Spot Image will stop sending programming to the satellite related to passage files, card files and related services. During the month of July, CNES will prepare the satellite for deactivation and de-orbiting. Photo courtesy Spot Image.

The de-orbiting procedure will follow guidelines developed by the Inter-Agency Space Debris Coordination Committee (IADC), which were endorsed by the United Nations. These guidelines include the controlled de-orbiting of satellites that reach their end of life (EOL). Satellites in geosynchronous orbit (GEO) are actually not de-orbited at EOL, but rather placed in a parking orbit, sometimes referred to as a graveyard orbit.

Policies related to the mitigation of orbital debris is a major component of work for Secure World Foundation and its partners.