Jump to main content

The Last Orbit of NorSat-TD

The Norwegian national satellite NorSat-TD entered the atmosphere and likely burned up shortly before 4:00 AM on May 18.

Written by
Christer Aasen
Updated
May 19, 2025
NorSat-TD (Technology demonstrator) is a small Norwegian experimental satellite testing new technology from several countries.
NorSat-TD (Technology demonstrator) is a small Norwegian experimental satellite testing new technology from several countries.UTIAS/SFL

The last contact with the satellite was at 02:31 Norwegian time. At that point, the satellite was at an altitude of 151 kilometers.

A new pass was scheduled for 03:52, but no data was received from the satellite. According to simulations, it is likely that it burned up around that time, somewhere between Iceland and Japan.

Somewhere, between Iceland and Japan, along the green line, NorSat-TD burned up.

Somewhere, between Iceland and Japan, along the green line, NorSat-TD burned up.

Credit: NOSA

NorSat-TD was a Norwegian small satellite primarily launched to demonstrate experimental technology. All experiments have been carried out with good results since the launch. The satellite had been operational since April 15, 2023.

Unexpected and intense solar activity in 2024 caused the atmosphere to expand much more than anticipated when the satellite was built. NorSat-TD orbited at a low altitude of around 500 kilometers and experienced more atmospheric drag than it was designed for. It slowed down and began to descend.

NorSat-TD is the first Norwegian national satellite to re-enter from space.

"We will use this event to learn much more about what actually happens when a satellite enters the atmosphere and burns up," says Christian Hauglie-Hanssen, Director General of the Norwegian Space Agency.

Director General Christian Hauglie-Hanssen.

Christian Hauglie-Hanssen, Director General of the Norwegian Space Agency.

Credit: NOSA

NorSat-TD's re-entry has been closely monitored by Norwegian and international experts and is likely to provide us with valuable knowledge about what actually happens when a satellite enters the atmosphere.

Monitoring Space Traffic

The Norwegian Space Agency has been temporarily given national responsibility for civil space traffic monitoring in Norway and has established a unit to keep track of space traffic. Space traffic includes satellites in orbit, rocket stages, decommissioned satellites, and fragments of these objects orbiting the Earth.

In collaboration with the European Space Agency (ESA), the Norwegian Space Agency has organized a project to analyze data collected from NorSat-TD as it entered the atmosphere. The project is being carried out on the Norwegian side by Statsat, the company that has operated the satellite since its launch.

There is limited knowledge about what actually happens when a satellite burns up, even among experts from larger space nations than Norway. SpaceX has already launched over 7,000 small satellites in its Starlink system and has plans for a fleet of 34,000. This means a large number of satellites will eventually fall and burn up. Could they become a climate issue in the long term? With larger satellites, there is also a risk that fragments may reach the ground.

Gaining Knowledge

Norway has been launching national small satellites since 2010. Even though some of them are no longer operational, NorSat-TD was the first to burn up in the atmosphere.

The results from the project will be useful for everyone operating satellites in space, especially in low Earth orbit.

“We will hopefully gain a better understanding of how to manage re-entry events in the future, including how long we can expect to maintain control of the satellite. We also believe that we will increase our expertise in operating satellites in very low orbits,” concludes Hauglie-Hanssen.