Proba-3 (Project for On-Board Autonomy 3) is the first close formation flying mission for the European Space Agency (ESA). It consists of two independent, three-axis stabilised spacecraft flying 150 meters from one another with the ability to accurately control the attitude and separation of the two craft. Such formation flying will be maintained for 6 hours, creating ″artificial solar eclipse″ for the satellite below. The spacecraft pair will fly a highly elliptical orbit divided between periods of accurate formation flying around apogee, when payload operations will be possible, and periods of free flight.
PSLV-XL is the upgraded version of Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle in its standard configuration boosted by more powerful, stretched strap-on boosters with 12 tonne propellant load. Weighing 320t at lift-off, the vehicle uses larger strap-on motors (PSOM-XL or S12) to achieve higher payload capability. On 29 December 2005, ISRO successfully tested the improved version of strap-on booster for the PSLV. The first use of PSLV-XL was the launch of Chandrayaan-1 by PSLV C11. The payload capability for this variant is 1,800 kg to SSO.
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is the space agency of the Government of India headquartered in the city of Bangalore. Its vision is to "harness space technology for national development while pursuing space science research and planetary exploration."
INFO WIKIA key element of ESA’s role as Europe’s space agency is the expansion of space knowhow, by encouraging new actors into the field. Case in point: a Polish software company previously specialising in smartphone apps took on the challenge of …
A pair of spacecraft were launched together today from India with the potential to change the nature of future space missions. ESA’s twin Proba-3 platforms will perform precise formation flying down to a single millimetre, as if they were …
ESA’s Proba-3 mission lifted off on its PSLV-XL rocket from Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, India, on Thursday, 5 December, at 11:34 CET (10:34 GMT, 16:04 local time).
HELSINKI — India launched the Proba-3 European technology demonstration mission Wednesday which will use a pair of spacecraft to create artificial solar eclipses. A Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) lifted […] The post PSLV rocket lau…
ESA’s eclipse-making Proba-3 double satellite mission has made it to space! Learn more about Proba-3 from the mission team as they bid farewell to their spacecraft, while ESA's Director General Josef Aschbacher wishes the team the best of …