WASHINGTON (March 16, 2026) – After 14 years of traveling through space, NASA’s Van Allen Probe A satellite has returned to Earth. The probe re-entered the atmosphere Wednesday March 11th, over the eastern Pacific Ocean, west of the Galapagos Islands.
Launched in 2012, Van Allen Probe A was one of two satellites that NASA sent into orbit around the Van Allen radiation belt. The mission was originally designed to last two years, but scientists extended it to seven years due to the spacecraft’s performance. Although the probe was made to remain in orbit until 2034, the intense solar activity contributed to its decay. The probe’s partner Van Allen B, is expected to arrive in 2030 or later.
For more analysis on these developments, please consider Scott Pace, Professor of the Practice of International Affairs, Director of the Space Policy Institute, and Director of the Institute for International Science and Technology Policy at GW’s Elliott School of International Affairs. Pace is an expert in civil, commercial, and national security space policy, analysis and assessment of space projects and programs, international space cooperation and competition; global navigation satellite systems, and international and domestic spectrum management. Pace served as Deputy Assistant to the President and Executive Secretary of the National Space Council from 2017-2020.
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