Old satellite to burn up over Pacific in 'targeted' re-entry first

According to the ESA, Salsa's return home will mark the first-ever "targeted" re-entry for a satellite, which means it will fall back to Earth at a specific time and place but will not be controlled as it re-enters the atmosphere.

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CLUSTER-2's artist impression with real satellites in orbit. Salsa is one of four satellites of the Cluster mission, launched in 2000 to better understand the magnetosphere. (AFP/ESA)