On this day in space! Nov. 10, 2013: Europe's GOCE satellite, the 'Ferrari of space,' fell out of orbit after mapping Earth's gravity field

space.com Nov 11, 2026

On this day in space! Nov. 10, 2013: Europe’s GOCE satellite, the ‘Ferrari of space,’ fell out of orbit after mapping Earth’s gravity field

Curated by Shubham · TechCapsules · Nov 11, 2026

AI-summarised brief · reviewed before publication

On November 10, 2013, Europe's GOCE satellite, which had mapped Earth’s gravity field for four years, ran out of fuel and re‑entered the atmosphere. The 1‑ton spacecraft, nicknamed the “Ferrari of space,” disintegrated about 50 miles above the Falkland Islands, causing no damage. The European Space Agency praised the mission as a success, noting GOCE’s unprecedented gravity mapping and its role in revealing subtle variations in Earth’s crust, mantle, and ocean currents.

💡 Why It Matters

· The loss of GOCE underscores the challenges of maintaining ultra‑low orbits for precision geodesy missions.
· Its data set remains a critical reference for climate modeling and navigation accuracy worldwide.

Capsules Space

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space.com · Nov 11

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Kratos and Seagate Space Partner to Advance Mobile Offshore Launch Capabilities for…

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