Proba-3 is a technology demonstration mission of European Space Agency (ESA), which will create artificial eclipses to study the Sun.
Source: Spacenews
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 off at 5:34 a.m. Eastern (1034 UTC, 4:04 p.m. local time) from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre. It successfully sent the Occulter and Coronagraph spacecraft pair forming the Proba-3 mission into the desired orbit. Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chairman S. Somanath congratulated both the PSLV project and Proba-3 teams following separation of the spacecraft.
The 550-kilogram European Space Agency’s Proba-3 mission aims to study the solar corona by emulating a total solar eclipse using two spacecraft flying in precise formation.
Proba-3 will operate in a highly elliptical 600 x 60,000-kilometer, 20-hour-period orbit. Near apogee, during a period of minimal gravitational perturbations, the pair will use cutting edge technology to align with millimeter-level precision and mimic a total solar eclipse. Key instruments include laser metrology systems and shadow position sensors for precise alignment.
The 1.4-meter-diameter Occulter will cast a shadow on the Coronagraph spacecraft from a distance of around 150 meters for about six hours at a time, allowing extended study of the Sun’s corona in visible light. This will allow observations of the structure, dynamics and the heating processes in the corona, very close to the Sun’s surface, using the Association of Spacecraft for Polarimetric and Imaging Investigation of the Corona of the Sun (ASPIICS) coronagraph payload.
Natural total solar eclipses, in which the moon passes in front of the Sun with respect to a location on Earth, last around four minutes. The Proba-3 eclipses also have the benefit of allowing observations without atmospheric interference.
The data is intended to enhance solar wind and coronal mass ejection (CME) prediction models, benefiting satellite operations and ground-based systems, said Joe Zender, ESA mission scientist.
Proba-3 also carries the Digital Absolute Radiometer (DARA) is an absolute radiometer for measuring the total solar irradiance and the high-fidelity 3D Energetic Electron Spectrometer (3DEES) to measure electron spectra in Earth’s radiation belts.
Teams will test the metrology equipment and activate the formation flying software on the two satellites, aiming to achieve the first images of the solar corona in around three months’ time. The tech demo mission is also aimed at paving the way for potential future applications. Dietmar Pilz, ESA’s director of technology said the mission aims to demonstrate the ability to operate two satellites as one large instrument, opening the door for future multi-satellite systems.
Precise formation flying technology could be used for applications including remote sensing, large distributed space-based instruments for interferometry, exoplanet detection, and on-orbit servicing.
Proba-3 involves more than 40 companies from 14 ESA member states and took more than a decade of development. The choice of India’s PSLV was a compromise in terms of cost of launch and mission requirements.
The mission is expected to last two years, with the satellites re-entering the atmosphere after five years, underlining ESA’s commitment to space sustainability.
