Cluster satellite Samba reenters over the South Pacific to the second
Samba, the third Cluster satellite, reentered over the South Pacific at 21:39:38 UTC on 31 August 2026. The European Space Agency and The Watchers report that a Tonga-based aircraft filmed the break-up and that 29 of 30 instruments returned data; the predicted moment held to the second. The Watchers says burns on 19 and 20 January put Samba and Tango on the same campaign, with Tango predicted for 21:30:31 UTC on 1 September.
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Samba reentered over the South Pacific at 21:39:38 UTC
Samba, the third of the European Space Agency's four Cluster satellites, reentered the atmosphere over the South Pacific Ocean at 21:39:38 UTC on 31 August 2026. The European Space Agency says a team flying from Tonga filmed the break-up with a tracking camera and that 29 of the 30 instruments on the aircraft returned data; The Watchers corroborates the Tonga-based airborne observation and that 29 of 30 instruments captured data or images. The agency says the predicted moment held to the second. The Watchers says Samba's final predicted reentry time proved accurate to the second, and that ESA reported visual acquisition on all tracking cameras, whereas the agency's own account names a tracking camera.[1], [2]
Salsa and Rumba's 2024 reentries placed Samba to the second
Cluster flew four identical spacecraft to map how the solar wind meets Earth's magnetic field. Salsa and Rumba came down in 2024 and their reentries fed the prediction that placed Samba to the second. Ground control lost the final signal through Kourou at 23:26 CEST. Stijn Lemmens, acting head of space debris at the agency, says better data on when and how a reentering satellite heats up, breaks apart and which of its materials survive lets engineers design spacecraft that burn up completely.[1]
January burns put Samba and Tango on the same Tonga flight
The Watchers reports that burns on 19 and 20 January 2026 shifted the Samba and Tango reentry locations closer together, putting both events within reach of the same Tonga-based airborne campaign on consecutive days. Samba completed the first of two consecutive ROSIE observation flights. The ROSIE team was flying from Tonga with an aircraft carrying 30 instruments, one day after recording Samba, to observe Tango's breakup. The campaign targeted remote South Pacific reentries. Tango was predicted for 21:30:31 UTC on 1 September 2026 with ±10 seconds uncertainty. Detailed processing of the observational data remained underway.[2]
