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Home , 2005 in spaceflight, Columbus (ISS module), Columbus Control Centre, Expedition 11, Expedition 13, Ulysses (spacecraft)

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Programmes in

Status end September 2005

70 esa bulletin 124 - november 2005 www.esa.int In Progress

20012 0 20022 0 0 20032 1 0 0 20042 2 0 0 20052 3 0 0 20062 4 0 0 20072 5 0 0 6 0 7 PROJECTP J FRMAMJ JASONDJ FMAMJ JASOONDJ FMAMJ JASOND J FMAMJ JJASONDJ FMAMJ JAESOND J FMAMJ JASONDJ FMAMC J JASOND COMMENTSC T O M M E N T S SPACE TELESCOPE LAUNCHED APRIL1990 LAUNCHED OCTOBER 1990

SOHO LAUNCHED DECEMBER 1995

HUYGENS LAUNCHED OCTOBER 1997

XMM-NEWTON LAUNCHED DECEMBER 1999

CLUSTER RE-LAUNCHED MID-2000

INTEGRAL LAUNCHED OCTOBER 2002

MARS EXPRESS LAUNCHED JUNE 2003

SMART-1 LAUNCHED SEPTEMBER 2003 TC-1 TC-2 TC-1 LAUNCHED DEC. 2003 SCIENTIFIC TC-2 LAUNCHED JULY 2004 PROGRAMME LAUNCHED MARCH 2004

VENUS EXPRESS LAUNCHED NOVEMBER 2005

HERSCHEL/ LAUNCH AUGUST 2007 LISA PATHFINDER LAUNCH MID-TO END-2009

GAIA LAUNCH END-2011

JWST LAUNCH JUNE 2013

BEPICOLOMBO LAUNCH OCTOBER 2013 M5 LAUNCHED 1991, -5/6/7 M6 1993, M7 1997 ERS-2 LAUNCHED APRIL 1995 LAUNCHED MARCH 2002 MSG MSG-1 LAUNCHED AUG. 2002, MSG-2 DEC. 2005, MSG-3 2009 METOP-2 LAUNCH JUNE 2006, METOP

TION METOP-1 2010, METOP-3 2015 A V CRYOSAT LAUNCH FAILURE OCT. 2005

GOCE LAUNCH NOVEMBER 2006 TH OBSER PROGRAMME SMOS LAUNCH FEBRUARY 2007

EAR ADM-AEOLUS LAUNCH SEPTEMBER 2008

SWARM LAUNCH 2010

EARTHCARE LAUNCH 2012

. LAUNCHED JULY 2001 V A ALPHABUS LAUNCH 2009

GNSS-1/EGNOS OPERATIONS START 2006 COMMS./N PROGRAMME GALILEOSAT FIRST LAUNCH 2005

PROBA-1 LAUNCHED OCTOBER 2001

PROBA-2 LAUNCH FEBRUARY 2007 PROG.

TECHNOL. SLOSHSAT LAUNCHED FEBRUARY 2005

COLUMBUS LAUNCH JUNE 2007

VITY ATV FIRST LAUNCH MAY 2007

NODE-2 & -3 LAUNCHES FEB. 2007 & OCT. 2008

CUPOLA GNSS-1/EGNOS LAUNCH UNDER REVIEW

, MICROGRA ERA LAUNCH NOVEMBER 2007

DMS (R) LAUNCHED JULY 2000 TION PROGRAMME ISS SUPPORT & UTIL. MSG MELFI EDR/EUTEF/SOLAR ACEFLIGHT FOTON-MI APCF-6/BIOBOX-5/ MATROSHKA FOTON-M2 EML-1 MAXUS-7 TEXUS-42 TEXUS-43 PCDF FOTON-M3 EMIR/ELIPS ARMS/BIOPACK/ MASER-10 EMCS/ EML-2 MARES FAST-2/ERISTO MAXUS-6 PEMS MSL

& EXPLORA MFC BIO, FSL, EPM with COLUMBUS

HUMAN SP FLT.

ARIANE-5 DEVELOP. OPERATIONAL AR5-ECA QUALIF. LAUNCHED -5 PLUS FEBRUARY 2005 PROG. FIRST LAUNCH NOVEMBER 2007 LAUNCHER AT CSG READY FOR LAUNCH END-2008

DEFINITION PHASE MAIN DEVELOPMENT PHASE STORAGE

LAUNCH/READY FOR LAUNCH OPERATIONS ADDITIONAL LIFE POSSIBLE

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necessary to include a de- module on determined power-sharing plan. The current HST this mission. Current estimates indicate that configuration will be maintained until Spring HST will not re-enter the atmosphere before 2007, when the spacecraft will be close 2020, and that provides ample time to find enough to the to allow the heater needed The is operating alternative means for a controlled de-orbiting. to keep critical parts of the spacecraft platform nominally, with the exception one of the five Removing the de-orbit module will significantly at a safe temperature to be switched off. on-board science instruments, namely the simplify the next mission, as well as reduce Ulysses is presently ~35º south of the Imaging Spectrograph (STIS), which failed on the risk associated with a new development equator, 4.5 AU from the Sun. 3 August 2004. and the associated risk to the . In early September the Sun, although far into To extend the expected scientific lifetime of The Hubble Space Telescope captured the the declining phase of the current sunspot HST, preparations were made over the last dramatic effects of the collision on 4 July cycle, produced a display of major activity. This year to switch-off one of the gyroscopes and between an 820-pound projectile released by included one of the largest solar flares of cycle operate in a two-gyro configuration. The two- NASA’s spacecraft and 23, an X 17+ on 7 September, which occurred gyro mode was tested with the four operational 9P/. The accompanying sequence of as the active region responsible rotated into scientific instruments in February and, given images shows the comet before and after the view of the on the Sun’s east limb. the excellent results, HST was transitioned to impact. The visible-light images were taken by A very large and very fast Coronal Mass two-gyro mode on 28 August. All indications the ACS instrument’s High-Resolution Ejection (CME) was also associated with this are that performance in this mode is excellent. Camera. flare. At the time, Ulysses was positioned Measurements of the point-spread function almost directly behind the Sun as seen from (PSF) with the Advanced Camera for Surveys Earth, giving it a unique view of the source of (ACS) show extremely small differences, if any, the activity for several days prior to its between two-gyro and three-gyro mode. Ulysses appearance on the visible (from Earth) solar Measurements of the PSF of the Near-Infrared disk. Based on observations from the Ulysses Camera and Multi-Object Spectrometer A major milestone for Ulysses was reached radio experiment, it is likely that region 10808 (NICMOS) are consistent with the ACS results, on 6 October with the 15th anniversary of its produced at least 4 intense flares while on the and a first look shows that the NICMOS launch from Cape Canaveral on-board the far side as viewed from Earth. The X 17+ flare coronographic performance is unchanged. The ‘Discovery’. After 15 years of produced an unusually intense radio burst performance of the guiding has operations, the spacecraft and its scientific observed by Ulysses, and the shock driven by also been excellent, with relatively small errors remain in remarkably good health. the CME was observed in-situ at Ulysses on (typically 1-2 degrees) accumulating during No anomalies have occurred during the last 14 September, implying a transit velocity of occultations and slews. This early introduction quarter, and the data coverage has been ~1210 km/sec over a distance of almost 5 AU! of the two-gyro science mode is expected to excellent, with a mission average of 97% to The radio bursts associated with some of the extend the observing lifetime of HST with the date. X-class flares occurring after the X 17+ flare current set of gyros by at least 9 months to had surprisingly low intensities. This is late-2008, corresponding to 2400 to 3000 On the programmatic front, the situation consistent with what was seen for the 2003 more of useful science. regarding NASA’s continued participation in ‘Halloween’ events. A possible explanation is the mission, which was a concern earlier in that the entire inner was filled with Plans for a Space Shuttle SM4 servicing the year, has shown significant improvement. energetic to a flux level sufficient to mission continue, but the final decision will The NASA budget for mission operations block the plasma instability that would only be made after a successful second flight and data analysis for Sun- otherwise initiate the radio-emission process. of the Shuttle, now scheduled for early Connections missions like Ulysses that are spring 2006. In the meantime, the NASA currently in their extended operational phase Administrator has decided that it is not has largely been restored. Nevertheless, the outcome of the next Senior Review, to be held SOHO on 14-15 November, will still be important.

All science operations during the reporting On 5 August, Toni Scarmato, a high-school period have been nominal, with the payload teacher from San Costantino di Briatico, being operated according to the pre- Calabria, Italy, discovered SOHO’s 999th and 1000th . Scarmato, an astrophysics graduate of Bologna University, said "I am very Collision of Deep Impact’s projectile with Comet Tempel 1 on 4 July happy for this special experience that is possible thanks to the SOHO and

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XMM-Newton

A major commencing on 8 September interrupted XMM-Newton operations for three and a half revolutions, implying some 380 ksec of lost science time.

The completion status of the Announcement of (AO) based observing programmes is as follows:

– AO-3: 99.5% – AO-4: 50.3%.

Completion of the above programmes is expected by March 2006, in line with the planned start of AO-5 observations. The fifth Announcement of Opportunity (AO-5) was issued on 5 September as planned, with a deadline of 14 October (at 12:00 UT). First indications are that this AO is, once again, heavily oversubscribed.

A new version of the XMM-Newton Science Analysis System (SAS) (Version 6.5) was Comets SOHO-999 and SOHO-1000. Note that although SOHO-1000 is ‘ahead’ of SOHO-999, and they appear in the same images, it released on 17 August. Most importantly, the was so inconspicuous that it was not spotted and reported until a few minutes after SOHO-999 new version allows better modelling of spatial and temporal response dependencies of the researchers investigating the nature of our MOS cameras and therefore leads to a much NASA-ESA collaboration. I want to dedicate Solar System. better cross-calibration between the EPIC the SOHO 1000th comet to my wife Rosy and instruments. my son Kevin to compensate for the time that I have taken from them to search for SOHO Version 2.8 of the XMM-Newton Science comets". Archive (XSA) was released on 2 August. Among other improvements, the new version To help publicise cometary science, the SOHO allows access for the first time to a sample project held a contest in the months before The analysis of both the engineering and of multi-colour optical images from the XMM- the discovery that allowed the public to guess scientific data sets is progressing well, and the Newton Survey Science Centre X-ray the date and time of perihelion passage for main post-flight engineering data analysis is Identification follow-up programme and SOHO-1000. The winner of this contest, which now complete. A follow-up study with the main provides a data-quality report for each attracted nearly 10 000 participants worldwide, aim of documenting Huygens ‘lessons learnt’ observation. The archive has 1550 external was Andrew Dolgopolov from Dublin, Ireland, will be initiated in November. A coordinated set users as of 23 August. In July, a total of 960 who guessed the time of the comet’s closest of Huygens results is being finalised to appear separate data sets were downloaded by 132 approach to the Sun (perihelion time) to within in the journal Nature in late November/early external users. 22 minutes! December. A preliminary trajectory in the International Celestial Reference Frame Over 350 scientists attended the XMM- Nearly half of all comets for which orbital (ICRF) has been derived from the Huygens Newton-organised conference ‘The X-ray elements have been determined since 1761 VLBI data set. At the time of writing, work is Universe 2005’ on 26-30 September at the have been discovered by SOHO, over two still in progress to reconcile the VLBI-derived Euroforum in San Lorenzo de El Escorial, thirds of them by amateurs accessing LASCO probe trajectory and the trajectory recon- Spain. The meeting served to highlight the data via the web. The current catalogue of structed from the coordinated analysis of the many contributions that XMM-Newton has 1000 SOHO comets (and counting!) forms a scientific payload measurements, which is in a made to our understanding of this topic, but treasure trove of data for years to come for Reference Frame. also clearly illustrated that, for example, the

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question of the origin of the galactic-ridge dramatically during geomagnetic storms. The can reverse this trend and speed up with the emission in hard X-rays is not yet resolved curlometer method (measurement of the help of material that flows from the companion and certainly warrants more observations. magnetic field at the four spacecraft star. This finding supports the theory that the and computation of current) was not expected fastest-spinning isolated pulsars get that fast to give good results in the ring current by devouring a nearby star, with gas ripped because the spacecraft tetrahedron is greatly from the companion fuelling the pulsar's Cluster deformed. However, having the four Cluster at acceleration. IGR J00291+5934 is the sixth small distances (below 200 km) showed that such system known, and it represents a The four spacecraft and their instruments are the current could still be estimated with good ‘stepping stone’ in the evolution of slower- operating nominally. The largest constellation accuracy. spinning binary pulsars into faster-spinning manoeuvres ever performed with Cluster were isolated pulsars. successfully executed in June-July, with the Two papers have been published in Nature in spacecraft achieving their largest ever August and September based on Cluster data. The Integral observations have provided new separation distance of 10 000 km. It was The first one presented the first observations insights into just how such a rapidly rotating, one of the most complex manoeuvres ever of short-scale Alfven vortices in the polar magnetic, neutron star emits so much energy. conducted, with 49 individual manoeuvres cusp; these are produced in turbulent plasma As well as providing unprecedented spatial executed with a total of 21 hours of thruster and, although theory predicted their resolution, the Integral imager, IBIS, also firings. The spacecraft are now in a multi-scale occurrence, they had never before been provides good spectral resolution. This has configuration with three spacecraft (C1, C2, observed in space. The second presented the enabled the emission associated with the C3) at 10 000 km separation and two changes in the radiation belts during the accretion disk and the hot-spots above the spacecraft (C3, C4) at 1000 km. October-November 2003 storms. The belts magnetic poles to be separated. Indeed, the disappeared from their usual location and then pulsed emission from above the polar caps is Work is progressing for the switch from the reformed much closer to the Earth, in a region seen to contribute around 80% of the total Villafranca (E) to the Perth (W. Aus.) ground where high-energy particles are usually not flux, emphasising the importance of observing station in early 2006. The data return between found. Looking at Cluster and Antartica data, it these objects in the -ray region while March and early September was more than was found that an electromagnetic emission the X-ray monitor onboard Integral 99.4%. called ‘chorus’ was responsible for the simultaneously studies the X-rays from the acceleration of electrons. Radiation belts can accretion disk. During the past months, the Cluster Active be a hazard to and humans in space Archive (CAA) team has been working towards and such studies are crucial to understanding the opening of the Archive this autumn. their formation. The ESTEC team has concentrated on the Express ingestion software and the user interface, and the instrument teams on the delivery of data. Integral The spacecraft completed its 2000th orbit The CAA system now has about 12 Tbytes of around Mars on 5 August. available storage, of which nearly half is currently used. Integral has discovered the fastest-accreting The third quarter of 2005 saw the start of X-ray pulsar known to date. This remarkable commissioning of the now fully deployed A Cluster–Double Star Symposium took place object, called IGR J00291+5934, rotates more MARSIS instrument, and its integration into at ESTEC on 19-23 September. This was a than 500 times a second and contains a mass the routine mission planning and operations special occasion to celebrate Cluster’s 5th comparable to that of our Sun compressed cycle. Initial scientific results from the radar’s Anniversary in space. More than 160 scientists into a sphere only 20 kilometres across. These ionospheric and subsurface measurements from , , , and Japan highly compressed stars, called ‘neutron stars’, look very good, with a number of papers participated. Sessions on the latest Cluster are created in stellar explosions and are the intended for the journal Science already in and Double Star results and multi-spacecraft remnants of stars that were once at least eight preparation. analysis tools, as well as on future mag- times more massive than the Sun. The pulses netospheric missions from China, Europe, indicate the presence of an intense magnetic Overall operations are proceeding well. The Japan, Russia and USA, were organised field and are produced as beamed gamma- recent proximity of Mars and the favourable during the week-long Symposium. rays which sweep past us as the neutron star illumination conditions resulted in the return of rotates, similar to a lighthouse beam. Neutron unprecedented amounts of science data from The first direct measurement of electric current stars are thought to be born rapidly spinning in the last three months. Mars in the ‘ring current’ has been published in and then to gradually slow down, losing Express’s distance from Earth decreased from Annales Geophysicae. The ring current is part energy over a few hundred thousand years. 150 to 79 million km, reducing the one-way of the radiation belts that increases Neutron stars in binary star systems, however, signal propagation delay from 8 to 4 minutes,

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and the maximum operational telemetry bit A total of 24 papers have been accepted for The launch campaign itself went very rate of 182 kbps was exploited throughout the the special Annales Geophysicae issue on the smoothly thanks to the excellent cooperation period. first results from Double Star. A special between the Eurockot/Khrunichev and EADS- session on Double Star and Cluster results is /ESA teams. On 5 October, the Following problems encountered in operating scheduled at the American Geophysical Union satellite was declared ready for launch after the PFS instrument, test operations have been meeting in San Francisco. a successful rehearsal of the countdown performed since mid-July. Recently, the first procedure. The tracking stations and the signs of a possibility for returning to nominal Early in 2005, the Double Star and Cluster ESOC flight- operations team were also ready. operations have been identified. Since spacecraft observed a flux transfer event 15 August, the Aspera team has reported (FTE) produced when the solar- magnetic The launch took place on 8 October as disturbances on one of the instrument’s high field reconnected with the magnetospheric planned, at 15:02 hrs. After a successful lift- voltages. Investigations show the impact on magnetic field. The FTE could be observed at off, the Rockot launcher disappeared out of operations and science data-taking is minimal. small scale with the Cluster spacecraft (200 sight from the Plesetsk cameras. It was later The August issue of Planetary and Space km separation) and at large scale with Double announced that the mission had been lost due Science was dedicated to PFS results, and a Star (18 000 km away from Cluster). It was to a failure in the Russian launcher. special edition of ICARUS dedicated to Aspera elongated along the vertical z-axis and a results is in preparation. preliminary estimate of its motion is consistent The resulting disappointment throughout the with the reconnection model. entire science community has been enormous, On 15 September, ESA’s Science Programme as the mission objectives of CryoSat are Committee (SPC) agreed to extend the Mars becoming ever more important for achieving a Express mission for a second Martian year CryoSat better understanding of the mechanisms of (1 December 2005 to 31 October 07). global warming. The ESA Executive is therefore working very hard on a proposal to The CryoSat launch campaign began on build a replacement satellite and recover the 31 August when a large Antonov 124 cargo CryoSat mission. Double Star plane took off from Munich on route to Archangelsk carrying some 60 tons of The two spacecraft and their instruments are equipment. The satellite and the nine operating nominally. The spin-axis drift is as containers were then ferried to the Plesetsk GOCE predicted and should not cause problems cosmodrome by a special train. before July 2006 for TC-2 and December 2006 The GOCE system-level Critical Design for TC1. Review (CDR) was completed on 13 July. The Board concluded that the satellite’s The perigee of TC-2 has been decreasing due development had progressed significantly, to the Sun-Earth perturbations (height now and consequently it formally released the around 250 km), and atmospheric drag is integration programme for the satellite flight slightly changing the orbit. Mission planning model (FM). The Board also noted, however, has been affected in that orbit predictions four the critical issue of the manufacture and weeks in advance can have a shift of up to verification of the Accelerometer Sensor one hour. This affects the commanding of the Heads (ASHs), recommending that an overall PEACE instrument, which has to be switched- schedule-reconsolidation exercise be off when in the radiation belts, and a temp- undertaken to mitigate the consequences of orary work-around solution is being put in the delay incurred in the production of the place. The perigee altitude reached its minimum flight accelerometers. The Board requested in September and will increase again in the that the Project issue a close-out report on the next few months. above issues by the beginning of December.

The European Payload Operation System Good progress has also been made on (EPOS) that co-ordinates the operation of the resolving the stiffness anomaly detected in seven European instruments on TC-1 and TC- three ASH FMs integrated at ONERA. A new 2 and is running smoothly. ESOC has been ASH FM, integrated using special cleanliness acquiring an average of 3 hours of data per precautions, was successfully tested and The launch of CryoSat from the on day using the Vilspa-2 antenna, with an 8 October showed no stiffness anomaly after acceptance availability rate of 99.94% during the summer. testing, which included both vibration and

www.esa.int esa bulletin 124 - november 2005 75 Programmes

thermal-vacuum tests. All of the components performed during the reporting period, CNES Proteus-platform-based project) launch needed to build the remaining five ASH FMs including the Payload Data Segment (PDS) campaign. plus one spare are ready. The stiffness of the Acceptance Review 1, the Calibration and next batch of ASH FMs will also be extensively Monitoring Facility Critical Design Review A number of activities have started in industry verified to confirm the repeatability of the (CDR) and the Reference Planning Facility related to payload operations. Work on good results. As regards the Gradiometer FM Preliminary Design Review (PDR). Activities tailoring the generic Proteus Mission electronics manufacturing activities, two Front- are also progressing nominally at the Operations Control Centre to SMOS’s needs End Electronics Unit (FEEU) FMs have been European GOCE Gravity Consortium is expected to start after the Calypso launch. delivered, and the third FEEU FM and the responsible for the development of the High- Gradiometer Accelerometer Interface Level Processing Facility (i.e. Level-1 to Level- The development of the data-processing Electronic Unit are undergoing final 2): the CDR for this facility was successfully ground segment has started under an acceptance testing. The first two FEEU FMs performed in July. ‘Authorisation to Proceed’. have already been used by ONERA during ‘drop tower’ tests performed at Zarm (, Germany). The various tests have demonstrated the performance of the ASH SMOS ADM-Aeolus demonstration model and first flight model under microgravity conditions. The Critical Design Review/ Qualification The structural-model satellite has been Results Review for the payload is currently in disassembled following the successful test In the Platform area, Astrium GmbH is progress. Except for one schedule-critical campaign. The platform structure has been continuing the functional testing of the Test subsystem, no major issues have been returned to the supplier, Contraves, who will Bench engineering model (TBh EM), with identified so far. refurbish it for flight before the end of the year. special emphasis on closed-loop testing of the The thermal hardware, including the radiators drag-free attitude-control system. Moreover, and heat pipes, has been returned to Astrium the integration of the Payload EM (i.e. the Toulouse to be built into the flight-model SSTI EQM and the Gradiometer EM) on the instrument. Platform TBh EM has been completed and the debugging of the platform-to-payload The qualification model of the laser has been interfaces is in progress. In addition, the completed at Avionica and is prod- Platform FM integration activities have ucing adequate bursts of ultraviolet laser advanced at a good pace and full integration pulses for flight. of all FM units (except the Propulsion Assembly) is expected by the beginning of Good progress has been made in under- October. Testing of the Ion Propulsion standing and characterising laser-induced- Assembly (IPA) EM has also started, which will damage phenomena. Almost all components verify the overall IPA performance and, in and coatings for flight have been selected, particular, the compatibility between the EQMs including the piezo mirror and master oscillator of the Ion Thruster, the Ion Propulsion Control YaG rods. Some difficulties still remain, Unit and the feed system. In the solar-array however, with the YaG slabs of the power area, the flight photovoltaic assembly has amplifier and the frequency-tripling crystal; been installed on all panels and acceptance alternatives are being evaluated. testing is in progress. SMOS antenna arm mounted in the Antenna Test Facility at the Technical University of Denmark The satellite Critical Design Review (CDR) On the Ground Segment side, the Flight was conducted in August and September. Operations Segment (FOS) and the Payload Flight-unit production has started for nearly all The Board concluded that the satellite’s Data Segment (PDS) activities have subsystems, with many units (filters, antennas, development status was satisfactory and that progressed according to plan at ESOC and receivers, structure, mechanisms) already the CDR objectives had been met. There were ESRIN. In particular, the first part of System delivered. Preparations are being made for the some difficulties, however, particularly with the Validation Test 0 (SVT-0) has been success- antenna-pattern measurements with the first definition of failure detection, isolation and fully performed by sending commands from arm at the Technical University of Denmark. recovery with the Coarse Earth-Sun Sensor, ESOC to the satellite (i.e. platform plus with the GPS and with product assurance at payload) EM TBh at Astrium GmbH and Platform assembly, integration and testing at prime-contractor level. These issues will be receiving back the related telemetry. Several Alcatel will start as soon as personnel and addressed by the Project in the next few reviews have also been successfully equipment are back from the Calypso (another months. The Board also noted the significant

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Final system validation and verification testing MSG-2 of the ground segment at Eumetsat is The MSG-2 launch campaign started on progressing well, with completion of all core 21 June with the satellite’s transportation to activities scheduled for early next year, leading Kourou (Fr. Guiana), but was stopped when it to a series of rehearsals and simulations became clear that an August launch could no starting in March 2006. The LEOP preparation longer be supported by . The activities at ESOC are proceeding according MSG-2 spacecraft was then put into a storage to plan. configuration in the clean room at CSG. The MSG team returned to Europe to resume the As regards the new Soyuz ST launcher, the assembly, integration and test (AIT) activities mechanical qualification activities necessary on MSG-4, while two team-members stayed Qualification model of the Aeolus laser producing the appropriate pulsed bursts for the new fairing, intermediate bay and behind in Kourou with MSG-2. The planned upgraded orbital-transfer vehicle are in launch date is currently 20 December, which advances in high-power laser technology in progress, with completion scheduled towards means that the launch campaign should be re- Europe made within the framework of the the end of this year. In parallel, modifications started by the end of October. project. to the facilities at the have started with installation of the checkout MSG-3 Launch is still planned for September 2008. equipment needed for the new digital avionics MSG-3 remains in short-term storage in the and modification of the launch tower, and Alcatel clean room. It will be kept available the associated handling equipment, to as a source of spares for MSG-2 during its accommodate the larger diameter fairing. launch campaign. Thereafter, it will be put into MetOp long-term storage, awaiting its own launch, which is currently foreseen for 2009. Following a detailed review of the current state of readiness of all elements of the EPS/MetOp MSG-4 System, Eumetsat has announced the launch Meteosat Second The MSG-4 AIT activities are proceeding date for the first Metop as 30 June 2006. Generation (MSG) according to plan. Electrical integration activities were started after the industrial team The MetOp-2 satellite (first to be launched) is returned from the aborted MSG-2 launch currently stored in the clean room at Astrium MSG-1 campaign, with the integration of the Electrical Toulouse awaiting resumption of final The first north-south station-keeping Power System (EPS), and will continue until preparation activities in early January next manoeuvre was successfully performed on the MSG-2 launch campaign restarts. The year, and subsequent shipment to the Meteosat-8 (formerly MSG-1) in June. It has thermal/optical vacuum test on the SEVIRI Baikonur Cosmodrome in early April. Included now been in orbit for 3 years and operations instrument will be performed as soon as the in these final preparations is the reintegration have been nominal during the reporting Focal V facility at CSL (B) becomes available. and testing of the AMSU-A instruments, which period, with excellent instrument performance. The instrument’s final delivery is now planned were recently removed for repair due a generic of Eumetsat) for January 2006. Delivery of the Mission manufacturing problem discovered in a sister instrument in the USA. During this same period, the final ground segment to satellite validation testing will also be performed both with the Launch and Early Operations Phase (LEOP) operator (ESOC) and the routine- operations entity (Eumetsat).

On 18 July, a cold front approached Switzerland from . In the pre-frontal air mass of tropical-maritime origin, lines of severe thunderstorms were forming. On the satellite image from Meteosat-8, one can derive many details of the thunderstorm cell. In particular, as evidenced by the infrared window channel (IR 10.8) after 12:45 UTC a cold arc was developing on top of the cell with temperatures around -60˚C indicating a possible penetration into the stratosphere (see red-black to white colours) (Image courtesy of Eumetsat) www.esa.int esa bulletin 124 - november 2005 77 Programmes

will simultaneously obtain a space-time Spectrometer) and the HRC (High-Resolution characterisation of both the field sources Camera). Data on the in-orbit radiation and inside the Earth and ionospheric-magneto- space-debris environments are also routinely spheric current systems. provided by the spacecraft’s SREM and DEBIE instruments. The primary research objectives assigned to the mission are: During its four years in orbit, PROBA-1 has • studies of core dynamics, geo-dynamo generated 10 700 CHRIS multi-spectral processes, and core-mantle interaction images (mainly 4- or 19-band), and 8300 HRC • mapping of lithospheric magnetisation and black-and-white images. CHRIS instrument its geological interpretation images are currently being used by 116 • determination of the 3-D electrical scientific Principal Investigators (PIs) around conductivity of the mantle the World for such local applications as soil, • investigation of electric currents flowing in aerosol, forestry, agriculture and water the magnetosphere and ionosphere. monitoring. CHRIS is also contributing to the International Charter on Space and Major In addition to the above sources, the ocean Disasters, while the HRC is being used for currents produce a contribution to the public-relations, educational and scientific Artist’s impression of the Swarm satellite constellation (Courtesy of EADS Astrium) measured magnetic field. The magnetic field purposes. not only contains evidence of the planet’s evolution, but also directly controls the A further one-year extension of PROBA-1 Communication Package (MCP) is planned for dynamics of the ionised and neutral particles operations conducted from ESA’s Redu facility December 2005. in the upper atmosphere, and possibly even (B) is envisaged. has some influence on the lower atmosphere. This has led to the identification of the two secondary research objectives of: SWARM • identifying the ocean circulation by its Human , magnetic signature Swarm is the fifth ESA Earth Explorer Mission. • quantifying the magnetic forcing of the Research and The mission concept involves placing a upper atmosphere. Applications constellation of three satellites in three dif- ferent near-polar orbits at altitudes of between Analysis of the Swarm data will greatly 450 and 530 km, which will provide high- improve existing models, and also provide precision and high-resolution measurements new models of the near-Earth magnetic field Highlights of the Earth’s magnetic field. (Courtesy of with much higher resolution and greater The Shuttle Return-to-Flight mission (LF-1) EADS Astrium) authenticity than previous single-satellite took place between 26 July and 9 August. missions. This provides the prospect of Whilst the overall mission was successful, the Swarm will provide much-needed continuity investigating hitherto-undetected features External Tank suffered foam loss from a with such geopotential research-oriented of the Earth’s interior. number of different areas. Consequently, the missions as Ørsted, SAC-C, and Champ. It will next Shuttle launch has been postponed to no carry state-of-the-art , and will The Phase-B contract for the satellite is earlier than May 2006. be able to make measurements over different planned to start this November. regions of the Earth simultaneously. An With regard to the ISS Assembly Sequence, electric-field instrument and an accelerometer the NASA group evaluating Shuttle-flight on each of the satellites will provide additional options has completed its task. The results are measurements to help understand the PROBA that NASA intends to have 18 Shuttle flights to interaction between the Earth’s magnetic field the ISS, and all main ISS elements will be and other physical variables. The mission’s The PROBA-1 spacecraft will complete four launched, with the exception of the Centrifuge primary aim is to provide the best-ever survey years in orbit on 22 October. It is still working Accommodation Module and the Russian of the geomagnetic field and the first global very well, supporting a variety of Earth- Solar Power Module. representation of its variation on time scales observation campaigns (examples of which ranging from hours to several years. The more can be found at http://earth.esa.int/workshops/ The Russian Progress Cargo spacecraft (19P) challenging aspect, however, is to separate the chris_proba_05/) with its main instrument docked to the ISS on 10 September, carrying contributions from the various sources. Swarm CHRIS (Compact High-Resolution supplies for the crew. This was the 50th flight

78 esa bulletin 124 - november 2005 www.esa.int In Progress

negotiations for ERA’s launch on the Russian Multipurpose Laboratory have been successfully completed.

Operations and related ground segments The Pulmonary Function System (PFS) was successfully launched in NASA’s HRF-2 with Shuttle flight LF-1 and is now accommodated in the ‘Destiny’ laboratory.

In October, during the Soyuz Taxi Mission (11S) to the ISS to replace both the docked Soyuz vehicle (10S) and the crew, visiting Crewman Greg Olsen suc- cessfully performed three ESA experiments.

Previously, during his stay onboard the ISS as Node-2 activities at the (photo NASA) an Expedition 11 crew member, the Russian Cosmonaut Sergey Krikalev successfully of a vehicle to the ISS starting with that of clamp-band design, to prevent rotation, has conducted three ESA experiments, samples in November 1998. started. and data for which were successfully downloaded with the Soyuz 10S return to Earth Space infrastructure development Node 2 is currently undergoing ground testing flight in October. During the The final round of Columbus module system and preparation for flight at the Kennedy activities, a further three ESA experiments will acceptance testing has been completed and Space Center; integration of Node 3 in Europe be performed by Cosmonaut Valery Tokarev. integration and testing of the external payload is continuing, with verification and close-out EuTEF (the European Technology Exposure activities due to start late in 2005. Matroshka, a radiation experiment that was Facility) has started. Operations validation on mounted externally on the ISS for 18 months, the Electrical Test Model continues and the The (ERA) flight was recovered during a space walk in August. Preliminary Acceptance Review (PAR), which model, flight spares and Mission Preparation The passive radiation sensors have been covers the module without , has and Training Equipment (MPTE), a version removed from the facility and returned to Earth started, and the procedure for the Final of which was previously shipped to Russia, with the Expedition 11 crew. New passive Acceptance Review (FAR1), which covers the remain in storage in Europe. Contractual radiation sensors, which will be uploaded to module outfitted with its payload complement, has been agreed.

During contamination tests earlier in the year, failure of an ATV latch valve occurred during vibration. Following detailed fatigue analysis, it has been decided to refurbish all 44 of the ATV Jules Verne latch valves. The latch-valve replacement, combined with various problems that are being discovered with the Functional Simulation Facility (FSF), has impacted the target ATV launch-readiness date, which is now spring 2007. In the meantime, qualification testing, de-bugging and functional testing continue with the flight-application software, Qualification Reviews have been held for avionics and for the videometer, and the -qualification of the ATV/Ariane-5

Soyuz Taxi Mission 11S approaches the ISS on 3 October (photo NASA) www.esa.int esa bulletin 124 - november 2005 79 Programmes

the ISS in December, will be installed by the Expedition 12 crew.

Qualification of the ATV Control Centre (ATV- CC) continues on schedule. Interface testing with external facilities (e.g. Houston, Moscow, , and Kourou) is progressing well, and acceptance of the facility is planned for January 2006.

The Columbus Control Centre (COL-CC) Qualification Review Part 1 (QR-1) has been completed; QR-2 is now planned for the first quarter of 2006. System qualification testing is continuing and a further Columbus System Validation Test has been carried out.

Utilisation planning, payload developments Matroshka with ISS Expedition 11 Commander (left) and ISS Expedition 11 Flight Engineer John Phillips. (NASA) and preparatory missions The second stage of the Women's International Space Simulation for Exploration Electrical Muscle Simulator (PEMS) are still Kiruna (and others) for a possible collaboration (WISE) Bed-Rest Study started in September. integrated in the Multi-Purpose Logistics on an EC/Erasmus Mundus Masters degree. Module (MPLM) ready for launch on ULF-1.1. Definition studies are in progress for the The need for pre-flight refurbishment, due to Commercial activities human-physiology project proposals that were the current Shuttle delay, is under discussion. A promotion campaign to attract companies to received following the 2004 Announcement of the ISS Business Club has resulted in three Opportunity (AO 2004). Launch of the Portable Glovebox is planned new members. with ATV-1 as an ESA upload; the training Preparations for the 41st ESA Parabolic Flight models have been delivered and interface Commercial proposals for the TERESA project Campaign planned for 3-14 October, during testing is currently being performed at NASA. (telemedicine) and the utilisation of ESA which 12 physical- and life-sciences and assets for training and corporate events, have technology experiments will be carried out, are The Columbus external payloads EuTEF been received. continuing. The Foton-M2 post-flight review will (European Technology Exposure Facility) and be held from 24-27 October. New payload SOLAR have been delivered for integration Astronaut activities developments for Foton-M3 are ongoing; with Columbus and testing is now underway. ESA astronauts T. Reiter and L. Eyharts confirmation of the launch date, which is participated in the Long Duration Mission currently planned for September 2007, The Atomic Clock Ensemble in Space (ACES) (Astrolab) Payload Training Session at the is expected during a review in October. Mission System Requirements Review (M- European Astronaut Centre (EAC) in August. SRR) has been successfully completed. However, following the Shuttle Return to Flight Experiment-module development efforts for the (LF-1), and the subsequent delay to further sounding Texus-EML, whose launch is ISS education Shuttle flights, including the Astrolab mission, scheduled for November 2005, and Texus-42 There is still a substantial demand from both have now been entered into the and Maxus-7, whose launches are scheduled Member States for education products such crew training flow. for spring 2006, are progressing on schedule. as the Education Kits and DVDs. All eight American and Russian Expedition 13 The Columbus payload rack facilities (, The selection of future student experiments for crew members received the first week of ATV European Physiology Modules, and Fluid the European Long Duration Mission and the increment training at EAC from 22-26 August. Science Laboratory) as well as the European ATV Jules Verne mission has been finalised. With this event, ESA became the third Drawer Rack (EDR) are all on schedule for International Partner to enter into operations delivery of the flight models to Columbus for The third cycle of the Erasmus/Life in Space implementation for the ISS. final integration and integrated testing Programme (part of the EC projects) was including the ground segment. The European completed in September, with ESA lectures P. Nespoli successfully passed the seat liner Modular Cultivation System (EMCS), the -80 and e-learning links. There have been fit-check for Soyuz-TMA spacecraft. r degC Freezer (MELFI) and the Percutaneous preliminary contacts with the University of

80 esa bulletin 124 - november 2005 www.esa.int