The European Space Agency (ESA) wants to launch a satellite to closely observe how it disintegrates upon fiery re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere.

ESA has contracted European technology group Deimos to begin development of the Disruptive Reentry Evaluation Container Object, or DRACO for short. The spacecraft will collect unique data as it reenters Earth’s atmosphere and disintegrates. The launch of the mission is planned for 2027.

The goal is to understand how satellites break down so they can be designed to break up further and burn up completely. The mission will also help evaluate how spacecraft reentry events impact the environment by examining how spacecraft parts and particles interact with the upper atmosphere and what byproducts are produced.

To achieve this, the 440-pound (200-kilogram) part of the DRACO spacecraft, the size of a washing machine, will be designed to disintegrate like a normal satellite. But it will also include a specially designed 15.7-inch (40-centimeter) capsule that can withstand tremendous forces during entry while measuring temperature and other forces.

Once inside, the capsule will deploy its parachute and transmit valuable data collected by four cameras and 200 DRACO sensors during descent, before disappearing into the oceans.

“Re-entry science is an important element in the destruction plan. “We need to better understand what happens when satellites burn up in the atmosphere and validate our re-entry models,” said Holger Krag, head of ESA’s Space Safety Division.