COVER BUL-128 11/9/06 3:45 PM Page 1 www.esa.int number 128 - november 2006 Member States Etats membres Austria Allemagne Belgium Autriche Denmark Belgique Finland Danemark France Espagne Germany Finlande Greece France Ireland Grèce Italy Irlande Luxembourg Italie Netherlands Luxembourg Norway Norvège Portugal Pays-Bas SPACE FOR EUROPE Spain Portugal Sweden Royaumi-Uni Switzerland Suède United Kingdom Suisse IXV Prepares for Reentry ESA bulletin 128 - november 2006 ESA Publications Division ESTEC, PO Box 299, 2200 AG Noordwijk, The Netherlands Tel: +31 71 565-3400 Fax: +31 71 565-5433 Visit ESA Publications at http://www.esa.int INSIDE COVER-B128 11/10/06 1:40 PM Page 2 european space agency Editorial/Circulation Office ESA Publications Division ESTEC, PO Box 299, The European Space Agency was formed out of, and took over the rights and obligations of, the two earlier European space organisations – the 2200 AG Noordwijk European Space Research Organisation (ESRO) and the European Organisation for the Development and Construction of Space Vehicle Launchers The Netherlands (ELDO). The Member States are Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Tel: +31 71 565-3400 Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. Canada is a Cooperating State. Editors Andrew Wilson In the words of its Convention: the purpose of the Agency shall be to provide for and to promote for exclusively peaceful purposes, cooperation among Carl Walker European States in space research and technology and their space applications, with a view to their being used for scientific purposes and for operational space applications systems: Design & Layout Isabel Kenny (a) by elaborating and implementing a long-term European space policy, by recommending space objectives to the Member States, and by concerting Jules Perel the policies of the Member States with respect to other national and international organisations and institutions; Advertising (b) by elaborating and implementing activities and programmes in the space field; Lorraine Conroy (c) by coordinating the European space programme and national programmes, and by integrating the latter progressively and as completely as possible into the European space programme, in particular as regards the development of applications satellites; The ESA Bulletin is published by the European Space (d) by elaborating and implementing the industrial policy appropriate to its programme and by recommending a coherent industrial policy to the Agency. Individual articles may be reprinted provided the credit line reads ‘Reprinted from ESA Bulletin’, plus Member States. date of issue. Signed articles reprinted must bear the author’s name. Advertisements are accepted in good The Agency is directed by a Council composed of representatives of the Member States. The Director General is the chief executive of the Agency and faith; the Agency accepts no responsibility for their its legal representative. content or claims. The ESA HEADQUARTERS are in Paris. Copyright © 2006 European Space Agency Printed in the Netherlands ISSN 0376-4265 The major establishments of ESA are: THE EUROPEAN SPACE RESEARCH AND TECHNOLOGY CENTRE (ESTEC), Noordwijk, Netherlands. THE EUROPEAN SPACE OPERATIONS CENTRE (ESOC), Darmstadt, Germany. ESRIN, Frascati, Italy. Chairman of the Council: S. Wittig Director General: J.-J. Dordain agence spatiale européenne L’Agence Spatiale Européenne est issue des deux Organisations spatiales européennes qui l’ont précédée – l’Organisation européenne de recherches spatiales (CERS) et l’Organisation européenne pour la mise au point et la construction de lanceurs d’engins spatiaux (CECLES) – dont elle a repris les droits et obligations. Les Etats membres en sont: l’Allemagne, l’Autriche, la Belgique, le Danemark, l’Espagne, la Finlande, la France, la Grèce, l’Irlande, l’Italie, le Luxembourg, la Norvège, les Pays-Bas, le Portugal, le Royaumi-Uni, la Suède et la Suisse. Le Canada bénéficie d’un statut d’Etat coopérant. Selon les termes de la Convention: l’Agence a pour mission d’assurer et de développer, à des fins exclusivement pacifiques, la coopération entre Etats européens dans les domaines de la recherche et de la technologie spatiales et de leurs applications spatiales, en vue de leur utilisation à des fins The Intermediate eXperimental Vehicle (IXV) is helping to scientifiques et pour des systèmes spatiaux opérationnels d’applications: build Europe's expertise in atmospheric reentry technology (a) en élaborant et en mettant en oeuvre une politique spatiale européenne à long terme, en recommandant aux Etats membres des objectifs en matière spatiale et en concertant les politiques des Etats membres à l’égard d’autres organisations et institutions nationales et internationales; (b) en élaborant et en mettant en oeuvre des activités et des programmes dans le domaine spatial; (c) en coordonnant le programme spatial européen et les programmes nationaux, et en intégrant ces derniers progressivement et aussi complètement que possible dans le programme spatial européen, notamment en ce qui concerne le développement de satellites d’applications; (d) en élaborant et en mettant en oeuvre la politique industrielle appropriée à son programme et en recommandant aux Etats membres une politique industrielle cohérente. L’Agence est dirigée par un Conseil, composé de représentants des Etats membres. Le Directeur général est le fonctionnaire exécutif supérieur de l’Agence et la représente dans tous ses actes. Le SIEGE de l’Agence est à Paris. Les principaux Etablissements de l’Agence sont: LE CENTRE EUROPEEN DE RECHERCHE ET DE TECHNOLOGIE SPATIALES (ESTEC), Noordwijk, Pays-Bas. LE CENTRE EUROPEEN D’OPERATIONS SPATIALES (ESOC), Darmstadt, Allemagne. ESRIN, Frascati, Italy. Président du Conseil: S. Wittig Directeur général: J.-J. Dordain www.esa.int ContentsB128 11/9/06 4:00 PM Page 3 8 10 26 Agenda 2011 Unveiling the Universe MELFI Ready for Science Setting the Agenda for Europe’s Space Two Missions Revealing the Cold ESA’s Cryogenic Freezer Begins Work Agency Universe Aboard the International Space Station 42 52 62 Taking the Measure of Earth Healing the Earth IXV Progress in Radar Altimetry Supporting Environmental Conventions The Intermediate eXperimental Vehicle bulletin 128 - november 2006 Contents Agenda 2011 8 Healing the Earth 52 Earth Observation Supporting International Unveiling the Universe 10 Environmental Conventions Two Missions to Unlock the Secrets of the Cold Cosmos Olivier Arino, Diego Fernandez-Prieto & Espen Volden Gerald Crone et al. IXV: the Intermediate eXperimental Vehicle 62 Cannibalism in Space: A Star Eats its Companion 18 Europe Among the World Players in Atmospheric Reentry A (Typical?) Integral Observation of the High-Energy Sky Giorgio Tumino & Yves Gerard Christoph Winkler et al. Delta-DOR 68 MELFI Ready for Science 26 A New Technique for ESA’s Deep Space Navigation ESA’s –80ºC Freezer Begins Work in Space Roberto Maddè et al. Maria De Parolis et al. Preparing for Space 32 Programmes in Progress 76 EVA Training at the European Astronaut Centre Hans Bolender et al. News – In Brief 92 Taking the Measure of Earth 42 Publications 102 15 Years of Progress in Radar Altimetry Jérôme Benveniste & Yves Ménard www.esa.int esa bulletin 128 - november 2006 1 Pages 8-9 Agenda 2011 20/11/06 14:47 Page 8 ESA Agenda 2011 Agenda 2011 The next step is to 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 enable new services by Agenda 2011 CMINCMIN 08 08 EU Budget Revision CMINCMIN 11 11 exploiting several systems, space and Preparation of Major decisions on: programme proposals – Level of Resources Complementary non-space, acting in Implementation of for CMIN 08 – Exploration decisions on: Major decisions on: A Document by the Director General and Directors CMIN 05 programmes – Technology – GMES Preparation of – Level of Resources concert as a ‘system of Decision on GMES – GMES segment 2 – GNSS programme proposals – Launchers systems’. The potential Preparatory activities for phase 2 of segment 1 – Launchers for CMIN 11 – Telecom and integrated applications – ISS Exploitation Implementation of Navigation is immense in many – Preparatory Prog on CMIN 08 programmes The Agency’s Agenda 2011, released in monitoring, acted as a catalyst for members and a new relationship with the integrated applications important areas, such October 2006, presents an evolving European space telecommunications and EU. The first step should be taken within European Space Policy as civil security, air framework of action for achieving the is jointly developing new applications 2 years, to adapt accordingly the Review and Update of Convention: traffic management wide-ranging objectives of Member (Galileo and Global Monitoring for industrial policy rules and procedures, assessment of ESA Action plan for ESA – Decision making New Member States and maritime surveill- Evolution evolution – Funding mechanisms States and for adapting ESA to a Environment and Security/GMES) with decision-making, funding mechanisms Implementation of New Financial ance. This will make Propose new Council Improved coordination Review of industrial updated Convention Management System changing environment. Agenda 2007, the EU. The objective now is to develop and coordination between ESA and meetings set-up with National policy space an indispensable presented in mid-2003, led to significant beyond this, to make ESA a model for national programmes, resources and Programmes tool for European advances in less than