September 29th was the day when Europe’s unmanned cargo ship reentered the atmosphere successfully and then it destroyed itself along with the garbage it collected from the Space Station.

The vehicle was destined to break up in dozens of pieces weighing between 10 and 150 kilograms each, pieces which burned up due to the immense friction they experienced when entering the earth’s atmosphere.

The vehicle’s route to destruction was carefully planed by the people at the European Space Agency, the remaining pieces falling into the South Pacific Ocean.

The ATV (Automated Transfer Vehicle) was used to deliver food, water and other provisions to the astronauts on the Space Station and to get rid of the garbage which was accumulated on the Space Station during the astronauts’ stay there. The reentry of the vehicle was programmed during night time in order for the event to be more visible and easier to photograph.

ESA even went to the heights of hiring chase planes from NASA to photograph and even film the event. The reentry can be accurately described as a large ball of fire crushing into the ocean. Maritime authorities were informed about the event and a no-go zone was established, 2,700 kilometers long and 200 kilometers wide.

The hardest part of the ATV’s mission was successfully going into orbit and docking the station. Officials say that the vehicle performed wonderfully, just like it was supposed to do. Reentering the atmosphere was the easy part, but by far the most spectacular.

Because of the success and high performance of the ATV, ESA officials are considering upgrading the vehicle to be able to carry astronauts out to space and back.

The issue here is finding a way for the shuttle to safely reenter the atmosphere. Simonetta Di Pippo, the director of human spaceflight from ESA, thinks that the success of this mission will help the persuasion of the member governments to fund with 200 million euros ESA’s next project.