SPACE for EUROPE Nedews Inu-Imuayor Dnalreztiws Edèus United Kingdom Suisse ESA Bulletin 135 - August 2008 August - 135 Bulletin ESA

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number 135 - august 2008

Member States Etats membres

airtsuA engamellA muigleB ehcirtuA kramneD euqigleB dnalniF kramenaD ecnarF engapsE ynamreG ednalniF eceerG ecnarF dnalerI ecèrG ylatI ednalrI gruobmexuL eilatI sdnalrehteN gruobmexuL yawroN egèvroN lagutroP saB-syaP niapS lagutroP SPACE FOR EUROPE nedewS inU-imuayoR dnalreztiwS edèuS United Kingdom Suisse ESA bulletin 135 - august 2008 august - 135 bulletin ESA

ESA Communications ESTEC, PO Box 299, 2200 AG Noordwijk, The Netherlands Tel: +31 71 565-3400 Fax: +31 71 565-5433 Visit Publications at http://www.esa.int European Space Agency Editorial/Circulation Office ESA Communications 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 Launcher Development Organisation (ELDO). The Member States are Austria, The Netherlands Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and Tel: +31 71 565-3408 the United Kingdom. Canada is a Cooperating State. Editor Carl Walker 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 Additional editing European States in space research and technology and their space applications, with a view to their being used for scientific purposes and for operational Peter Bond space applications systems: Design & Layout (a) by elaborating and implementing a long-term European space policy, by recommending space objectives to the Member States, and by concerting Eva Ekstrand & Roberta Sandri 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 © 2008 European Space Agency Printed in the Netherlands ISSN 0376-4265 The major establishments of ESA are: ESTEC, Noordwijk, Netherlands. ESOC, Darmstadt, Germany.

ESRIN, Frascati, Italy.

ESAC, Madrid, Spain.

Chairman of the Council: M. Lucena

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 scientifiques et pour des systèmes spatiaux opérationnels d’applications: Artist's impression of Venus Express during the Venus orbit insertion manoeuvre on 11 April (a) en élaborant et en mettant en oeuvre une politique spatiale européenne à long terme, en recommandant aux Etats membres des objectifs en 2006. The spacecraft's main engine burned for matière spatiale et en concertant les politiques des Etats membres à l’égard d’autres organisations et institutions nationales et internationales; about 50 minutes, to reduce its speed with (b) en élaborant et en mettant en oeuvre des activités et des programmes dans le domaine spatial; respect to Venus to allow the the spacecraft to be (c) en coordonnant le programme spatial européen et les programmes nationaux, et en intégrant ces derniers progressivement et aussi captured by the planet's gravitation (ESA/AOES complètement que possible dans le programme spatial européen, notamment en ce qui concerne le développement de satellites d’applications; Medialab) (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: ESTEC, Noordwijk, Pays-Bas. ESOC, Darmstadt, Allemagne. ESRIN, Frascati, Italie.

ESAC, Madrid, Espagne.

Président du Conseil: M. Lucena Directeur général: J.-J. Dordain

www.esa.int

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Venus

Håkan Svedhem & Olivier Witasse Solar System Missions Division, Directorate of Science and Robotic Exploration, ESTEC, Noordwijk, The Netherlands

Dmitry Titov Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research, Katlenburg-Lindau, Germany

After being seemingly ‘forgotten’, with no visitors from Earth for more than 15 A years, Venus is back in the limelight as one of the most exciting planets to explore, and ESA’s Venus Express is keeping scientists busy interpreting new data.

Since arriving at Venus on 11 April 2006, ESA’s Venus Express has provided a wealth of new data and is now keeping the scientists busy interpreting this information and modelling the results (see also ESA Bulletin 124, November 2007). With its design inherited from Mars Expre s s, the Ve nus Expre s s s p a c e c raft has been perfo r ming ve r y well during the two years in Venus orbit, in spite of being bathed in solar radiation four times more intense than at Mars and twice that at Earth. O ver 25 spacecraft have been previously targeted at Venus, but they h ave still left a gre at number of questions unanswered. Perhaps the most fundamental question is why Venus and Earth are so different today. Until even as late as the middle of the last century, it was genera l ly believed that the

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Venus

Håkan Svedhem & Olivier Witasse Solar System Missions Division, Directorate of Science and Robotic Exploration, ESTEC, Noordwijk, The Netherlands

Dmitry Titov Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research, Katlenburg-Lindau, Germany

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Science & Robotics Venus

t h e rmal pro f i l e s, and to try to re p ro d u c e these measured wind speed dat a . The three-dimensional temperat u r e d i s t r i bution is very important fo r understanding the at m o s p h e r e. It is m e a s u red indire c t ly by three diff e re n t m e t h o d s, by the instruments V I RT I S, Ve r a and SpicaV, each focusing on d i ff e rent altitude ra n g e s. The PFS instrument would have prov i d e d A sequence of images taken by the VIRTIS instrument at a wavelength of 5 micrometres shows the vortex at the south pole of Venus at an altitude of approximately 60 km. After the first image, the second, third important additional data but, due to a and fourth are four hours, 24 hours and 48 hours later respectively. Each frame is about 2000 km across. The yellow dot marks the position of the pole (ESA/VIRT I S / I N A F / O b s . d e P a r i s - L E S I A / U n i v. O x f o r d ) malfunction, this instrument is not o p e rat ional. The SpicaV instrument uses the stellar occultation technique to conditions on Ve nus we r e not too How is this connected to the lack of a lengths of 1–3 micrometres, it is possible sound the temperat u re in the altitude dissimilar from those of Earth and that magnetic field and the time that the field to probe diff e rent depths of t h e range 100–140 km altitude possibly life existed there. d i s ap p e a red? Is the lack of p l at e atmosphere and, thanks to the elliptical A wa rm layer at about 90 km altitude, With the early missions of the 1960s, tectonics the key to the diff e re n t orbit with a pericentre over the north close to the midnight position, has been it became clear that no life could exist evolution, or a consequence? p o l e, it is possible to monitor the d i s c ove red. This is believed to be caused on the planet, at least not in the form In the early days of the Solar System, southern hemisphere for an extended by quickly dow n d rafting air that has that we know it. The surface has a the temperature must have been much time. been circ u l ated from the sunlit side and temperature of over 450°C, hot enough lower. When and why did that change? The sequence of four images demon- m i g rated around the planet and being Temperature in a cross-section of the atmosphere from the equator to the south pole in the altitude range 50 km to 90 km for the night to melt lead. The at m o s p h e re is Here are some of the results from Venus s t rates the highly va r i able character of h e ated by compression while descending. side. The cold ‘polar collar’ that encircles the pole can be seen between 60º and 80º southern latitude at about 65 km altitude composed of 97% carbon dioxide and Express that could help us to answer the vo r t ex at the south pole. It is not ye t The Vera investigation uses a radio 3% nitrogen, at a pressure of 92 bar these major questions. clear from wh e re the driving fo rce of t h i s o c c u l t ation technique through the (about the same pressure as at a depth of o r i g i n ates but it is obvious that there is a t e l e c o m mu n i c ation link to Earth to Atmospheric Composition and Chemistry Nitrogen oxide (NO) and molecular

1 km under Earth’s oceans). To add to Venus’s Atmosphere connection to the fast-ro t ating air masses sound the temperature in the altitude Apart from the major gases carbon oxygen (O2) have been detected due to these inhospitable conditions, the planet The super-rotation of the atmosphere at the mid and lower lat i t u d e s. range 40–90 km. This has revealed that d i oxide and nitrogen, there are a larg e their fl u o rescent pro p e r t i e s. Oxyg e n is covered in clouds of concentrated and the polar vortices are two of the The next image shows a composite of a the temperature in the lower atmosphere number of minor gases in the at m o s p h e re, ‘ a i rg l ow ’ is fairly bright and can be sulphuric acid. major mysteries of the atmosphere. At part of the southern hemisphere taken at during the day and night is fairly similar at the level of a few hundred parts per observed also in nadir geometry and so the equator, winds reach over 100 m/s at a wavelength of 1.7 micro m e t res that around the planet for constant altitude. million or less. Of t h e s e, the most images of its extension and dynamic

The Grand Question an altitude of 60 km, and thus circle the s h ows the cloud structure at an altitude of B e t ween 60 degrees and 80 degre e s important are sulphur dioxide (SO2) , b e h aviour can be used for genera l Perhaps the most important problem to planet in about four days. This is excep- about 45–50 km. By tracking feat u res in northern latitude there is a therm a l carbon monoxide (CO), water vap o u r studies of the at m o s p h e re at these

understand is why Venus has evolved in tionally fast, considering the long 243- s eve ral consecutive images of this kind inversion in the tropopause at about ( H 2O and the re l ated HDO), hyd rog e n altitudes (about 100 km). such a dra m at i c a l l y diff e rent way day rotation period of the solid planet t a ken at short time interva l s, the wind 60 km altitude. This is a part of the ‘cold chloride (HCl) and carbonyl sulphide The ox ygen comes from the CO2 c o m p a red to Earth, despite many itself. Venus Express takes a few steps speed can be estimated. By using diff e re n t collar’, which marks the outer region of (OCS). All these can be measured and molecules on the sunward side of the similarities like size, mass and (likely) closer to solving these mysteries by wave l e n g t h s, the wind speeds at diff e re n t the polar vortex. This is likely to be m apped by Ve nus Expre s s ’s SpicaV/SOIR planet that become dissociated into CO bulk composition. Most probably Venus mapping the atmospheric motion of the altitudes can be obtained. Elab o rat e caused by slowly downdrafting cold air and Virtis instruments. and O by the solar ultraviolet radiation has had a significant inventory of liquid at m o s p h e re in three dimensions and models are used to take in many making up the southern end of a Re c e n t ly, the hyd roxyl radical (OH) in the upper mesosphere or lowe r water in the past, perhaps even as much time. By measuring at infrared wave- m e a s u red para m e t e r s, in particular ‘Hadley cell’. This cell is a circulation was also detected by looking at the thermosphere (about 100–120km). The as Earth, while today the amount of p attern in the tro p o s p h e re and fl u o rescent light emitted by the exc i t e d oxygen atoms then travel around the water is equivalent to a global ocean mesosphere (below 90 km), with warm molecule after having taken part in a planet to the anti-solar side where they with an average depth of only 3 cm A false-colour composite of the southern hemisphere on the night side of Venus made by the VIRTIS instrument at a wavelength of 1.7 air rising in the equatorial re g i o n , chemical reaction. This very small descend and recombine with other (3 km for Earth). micrometres. It shows the structure of the clouds at an altitude of about 45–50 km. The south pole is just above the top of the central transported polewards and descending amount of gas could be detected with oxygen atoms to form oxygen molecules frame (E S A / V I RT I S / I N A F / O b s . d e P a r i s - L E S I A ) D ata from the SpicaV/SOIR to lower altitudes on cooling at these V I RT I S by using limb-viewing geometry, ( O 2). During the re c o m b i n ation the instrument show that the ratio of HDO latitudes. wh e re the amount of gas seen through a molecules become excited and they emit

to H2O corresponds to a deuterium to These two global circ u l at i o n section of at m o s p h e re at the limb a photon with a characteristic wave- hydrogen (D/H) ratio much higher than m e c h a n i s m s, an East-West super- appears to increase by up to a factor of length of 1.27 micrometres. This is the that on Earth (and the Solar System in ro t ation combined with a meridional 50 times as opposed to looking dire c t ly ‘airglow’ observed. g e n e ral ). This indicates that larg e Hadley-type circ u l ation below 100 km d own to the surface of the planet. amounts of hydrogen have escaped from and a solar to anti-solar circ u l at i o n H yd roxyl is important because it is ve r y Cloud Layer and Hazes the planet and left the heavier isotope ab ove 100 km, co-exist and play a major re a c t ive and norm a l ly has a short Ve nus is constantly cove red by a thick deuterium in place. This lost hydrogen role in the mixing of the diff e rent laye r s l i f e t i m e. The fact that we can see it means global cloud layer at an altitude of likely corresponds to the missing water. in the at m o s p h e re. t h at there is a continuous production. 50–70 km. This cover is the reason that

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Science & Robotics Venus

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Science & Robotics Venus

Average abundance of the most important minor gases in the atmosphere. The horizontal bars are An artist's impression of the detection of the airglow of hydroxyl (OH) molecules on the night not error bars but the range that the data are spanning. Note that the sulphuric dioxide is very side of the planet. The signal is enhanced by looking at the limb of the planet

variable. The gases HCl and H2O in the lower atmosphere have not yet been measured. The bars indicate the minimum detectable amount

Ve nus has an ex t r a o rd i n a r i ly high Ve nus have a lifetime of about dramatic resurfacing event took place albedo of 76%, meaning 76% of t h e 20 million years due to interaction with more or less simultaneously over the incoming sunlight is re flected away the surface. If there was no source to planet. The duration of this event does f rom the planet by the clouds and does continuously supply sulphur dioxide to not necessarily need to have been short, not contribute to the processes and the the at m o s p h e re, the clouds wo u l d it could be tens of millions of years or h e ating below. In visible light, almost q u i c k ly disap p e a r. The most like ly more, but it has no known comparison no structure can be seen at the top of mechanism for this supply is volcanic in the Solar System. Like the other this cloud cove r. In the ultraviolet light, activity but no proof of existence of terrestrial planets (except Earth), there h oweve r, an inhomogeneous distri- such activity has yet been found. does not appear to be any plate tectonic bution of an as yet still unknow n D ata from the magnetometer give activity. Therefore it is of great interest absorber causes a significant amount of strong indications of the existence of to get a better understanding of the c o n t ras t that allows detailed studies of lightning in the atmosphere. This is of surface properties of this planet. the top of the cloud laye r. The VMC great importance for the chemistry since Both VIRTIS and VMC are capable c a m e r a is well suited for this lightning provides the ex t ra energ y of peering through the thick atmosphere The sunlit side of Venus seen in ultraviolet light by the Venus Monitoring Camera from a distance of 30 000 km. The south pole is just below the lower end of the image and the equator is close to the upper purpose with its wide field of v i ew. required to synthesise many molecules. and the cloud cover by using the limb running from left to right. The cloud structure in the equatorial region is dominated by turbulent regions, with convection cells forcing the air up or down in small packets. The mid-southern latitudes are O b s e r vat ions have shown a larg e The frequency of the lightning appears 1 micrometre spectral ‘window’ in the characterised by long streaks in the clouds and clearly less convection while the polar region is dominated by the polar vortex (partly hidden behind the terminator) (ESA/MPS/DLR/IDA) t e m p o ral va r i ation and that there are to be similar to that of Earth but it has infrared region and to study the surface t h ree distinctly distinguishable re g i o n s not yet been possible to estimate the on the night side of the planet. However, s e p a rated at latitudes of ap p rox i m at e ly e n e rgy of the individual lightning the droplets in the cloud layer will blur variations that are used for evaluation of particles with respect to mass, fl u x , P re s e n t ly, the solar activity is near its 45 degrees and 70 degre e s. V I RT I S d at a strikes. The lightning is not likely to the images and limit the spat i a l different types of geological features. d i rection and energy in situ along the m i n i mum and these data complement s h ow that the cloud tops are located at occur between the clouds and the resolution attainable to about 50–100 orbit of the spacecraft down to the well the data taken by Pioneer Ve nus in about 70 km altitude except in the ground, but rather between clouds only. km. These images are maps of surface Impact of the Solar Wind p e r i c e n t re at 250 km altitude. It is also the 1980s during the solar maximu m . polar region, polewa rd of about 55 brightness temperature and not images Ve nus does not have an internal mag n e t i c c h a racterising the diff e rent regions and An important finding by Aspera is the d e g rees lat i t u d e, wh e re the cloud tops The Surface of Venus in reflected sunlight. They will be used field to protect the at m o s p h e re, unlike boundaries of the induced mag n e t o - absolute number of e s c aping hyd rog e n , s l ow ly drop to an altitude of 65 km at From crater statistics, based mainly on for the search for regions of Earth, so the solar wind can intera c t s p h e re together with the mag n e t o m e t e r. ox ygen and helium ions. A particularly the pole. data from the Magellan mission, it has anomalously high surface temperature d i re c t ly with the upper at m o s p h e re and Both instruments make re f e re n c e i n t e resting find is that the ratio of The sulphur cycle on Venus is very been possible to determine that the t h at could indicate the presence of e rode the at m o s p h e re in a very diff e re n t m e a s u rements of the solar wind when the e s c aping hyd rogen to ox ygen is 2.6, wh i c h important since it includes also all the surface of Ve nus is very yo u n g , volcanic activity or fresh lava fields. For way. It is important to understand how s p a c e c raft is outside the influence sphere i n d i c ates that water is a major source of clouds and so has a major impact on the g e o l og i c a l ly speaking, at 700 million comparison, synthetic maps based on this process wo rks and wh at the impact o f the planet. The two instruments these ions. If all of both components of c l i m at e. The sulphur dioxide in the years ±200 million years. Furthermore, Magellan altimetric maps together with on the evolution of the at m o s p h e re has t ogether have determined the position of water escaped, the ratio would be 2, bu t at m o s p h e re is the source of t h e there seems not to be any difference in an altitude to temperature conversion been in the past and will be in the future. the bow-shock and the induced since the ox ygen is much heavier it does sulphuric acid in the cloud dro p l e t s. the age of the different regions of the factor are used. This comparison also The Aspera instrument chara c t e r i s e s m agnetospheric boundary and their not escape as easily as hyd rogen. This However, the sulphuric compounds on planet and therefore it is believed that a yields maps of surface emissiv i t y e n e rgetic ions, electrons and neutra l re l ation to the solar wind para m e t e r s. m ay explain the diff e rence of 0.6. An

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Science & Robotics Venus

variable. The gases HCl and H2O in the lower atmosphere have not yet been measured. The bars indicate the minimum detectable amount

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Science & Robotics Venus

in the atmosphere and the carbonate ro c k s, so putting the planet in a rock in the crust. We do not know how ‘runaway greenhouse state’. On Earth, much carbonate rock there is on or the oceans converted the carbon dioxide below the surface but, at the present-day a l r e a dy in the at m o s p h e re into t e m p e r at u re on Ve nu s, most of t h e carbonate rocks to become sediments on carbon should be in the form of carbon the ocean floor and so stabilise Earth’s dioxide in the atmosphere. This is in c l i m at e. More data still has to be contrast to Earth for example, where collected and analysed, but data from most carbon is contained in carbonates Venus Express processed so far are all in Earth’s crust, while the total compatible with this scenario. inventory of carbon on Venus and the It is not possible to get a complete Earth has been estimated to be equal, or understanding of h ow the climate wo rk s at least within a factor of two. and evo l ves on one planet without hav i n g an understanding of it wo rks on all Conclusion planets in the inner Solar System. Perhaps the most likely answer to the Understanding Ve nus is essential fo r ‘ G r and Question’ is that the slight understanding Earth. The coming ye a r s difference in distance to the Sun was the will see seve ral studies focusing on The plasma environment around Venus. The x-axis is pointing toward the Sun and the y-axis shows the distance to the Sun-Venus line decisive factor. Due to this, the water on comparing the diff e rent aspects of t h e (in radii of Venus). Venus has no internal magnetic field but, due to an interaction between the solar wind, the heliospheric magnetic Venus started to evaporate creating a evolution of M a r s, Ve nus and Earth, in field and the planet itself, an artificial protective bubble is set up around the planet. Due to the pressure of the solar wind, this bubble becomes deformed and very asymmetric and lets the solar wind come much closer than for example it does at Earth. The location of the A map of the oxygen airglow at 100 km altitude on the antisolar point. The maximum of the intensity is almost perfectly centred on strong greenhouse effect that eventually o rder to prog ress towa rd such a genera l boundaries called 'Bow shock' and 'Induced magnetopause' are found by both the magnetometer and the Aspera instrument. Planetary the equator at local midnight. It is caused by oxygen atoms that combine to oxygen molecules and then fluoresce at infrared cooked the carbon dioxide out of the u n d e r s t a n d i n g . e ions, notably hydrogen and oxygen (constituents of water), escape the atmosphere through the wake in the solar wind wavelengths

e s t i m ate of the present escape rate is a A composite of several images taken with the Venus Monitoring Camera. It shows the thermal radiation from the surface of the planet very important factor for understanding that is able to penetrate through the thick atmosphere, thanks to one of the spectral ‘windows’ at infrared wavelengths. The spatial resolution is limited due to strong scattering of the light while passing through the cloud layer. Orange-red areas indicate a high surface the evolution of water on the planet. temperature (low elevation), while blue areas indicate a comparatively low surface temperature (high elevation). The red dots show landing sites of Russian Venera landers and the US Pioneer Venus Large Probe (ESA/MPS/DLR) Climate and ‘Greenhouse Effect’ The greenhouse effect is stro n g ly d o m i n ated by the vast amount of c a r b o n d i oxide in the at m o s p h e re. The enhancement due to carbon dioxide only, on the surface temperat u re, has been estimat e d to about 420K. However the wat e r vap o u r, even if at a low abu n d a n c e, enhances the surface temperat u re by 70K and the cloud cover as much as 140K if the albedo effect is not accounted fo r. There are still important uncertainties in these numbers since the absorption lines of most gases at Ve nu s conditions are not well known. Re l at e d l ab o ratory studies in support of t h e Ve nus Express inve s t i g ations are in p rog re s s. The net effect of the cloud c over on Ve nu s, just as on the Earth, is not yet fully understood. Both ex t e n d e d t h e o retical wo rk and more data will be needed for a better understanding. The carbon cycle is, or at least has been, very important since it relies on equilibrium between the carbon dioxide

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Science & Robotics Venus

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New Challenges

Simonetta Di Pippo Director of Human Spaceflight, ESTEC, Noordwijk, The Netherlands

SA’s new Director of Human Spaceflight looks at how we have demonstrated E Europe’s ability to live up to our ambitions in human spaceflight, and how we are entering the next phase of the human exploration of space.

The International Space Station (ISS) is today a beautiful reality, an international accomplishment which Europe, through ESA, is proudly part of. The European-built Node-2, the ESA Columbus laboratory and Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) are key contributions to an endeavour that has brought humanity to live and work in space uninterruptedly for almost a decade now. Five international partners repre- senting 14 nations have succeeded to bring to life the largest civilian cooperative project ever conceived. Hundreds of thousands of skilled workers throughout the world have been Backdropped by Earth, the ISS is seen from working to build and operate the ISS, Space Shuttle Discovery on 12 June 2008 learning from each other. Citizens from during the STS-124 mission (NASA) all over the world have witnessed in

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New Challenges

Simonetta Di Pippo Director of Human Spaceflight, ESTEC, Noordwijk, The Netherlands

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Human Spaceflight New Challenges

amazement male and female astronauts The Next Phase of Space Exploration from many nations working together to The first phase of space exploration is now The ISS as seen from Space Shuttle Discovery in June assemble and utilise this first inter- over. During this phase, we learned to fly in 2008 after the addition of the Japanese Kibo module national human outpost in outer space. space, to live and work there, but always (lower centre near ESA's Columbus). ESA's ATV Jules Verne is at the top, recognised by its familiar diagonal Much has been said about the ISS, but remaining safely close to Earth. In cross of solar panels (NASA) it will always be a reminder of the human parallel, our robotic proxies have reached desire to explore and push the frontiers, a out and conducted an initial, but no less signpost for future directions in our space fascinating, exploration of more distant activities. planets, including Mars, which remains the One cannot celebrate the ISS without ultimate destination for a human mission. thinking of those who have lost their lives We are on the edge of a second phase in this enterprise, reminding us all that that promises to be much more rewarding space activities, even though much safer as we build on the accomplishments and than before, still represents a risk that the experience gained previously, in order requires all the possible safety measures. to go farther than low Earth orbit and to The near-completion of the ISS do much more. however compels us to act rapidly in order This next phase will be characterised by not to waste the investment made so far a number of important players with and not to dissipate the human capital and similar capabilities, a second wave of knowledge gained over the last two innovation linked to space exploration, an decades. accrued attention paid to economic This was the consideration that led factors and, possibly, by the emergence of ESA to define and propose to its Member private enterprise in human spaceflight States in 2001 the European space and exploration. Because this second exploration programme Aurora. In a phase aims at a sustained effort in space different context, this was also, at least exploration, cooperation will be even partially, the underlying consideration in more important and will occur probably With a significant contribution from opportunity for cooperation. The first Europe’s Role in Human Spaceflight the US Presidential Vision for Space at global level. Europe through ESA and four national element of this mechanism is an Europe has secured an important role in Exploration announced in January 2004 With this in mind, 14 space agencies space agencies (ASI, BNSC, CNES and International Space Exploration the ISS partnership and has lived up to that eventually turned NASA in a ‘space worldwide have produced an important DLR), this document lays down the Coordination Group (ISECG) that is its commitments brilliantly. We should exploration agency’. document called ‘Global Exploration common vision and objectives by possibly meant to implement, with the support of credit the European industry in Strategy: a framework for coordination’. all space agencies involved or interested in a Secretariat, the strategic vision developing and manufacturing the space space exploration. contained in the document. The hardware that has been working It also provides for a mechanism of experience and the tradition of working flawlessly since the first day of coordination and for multiplying the together that we have gained in the ISS installation and ever since. Columbus, will come in very useful as we plan to ATV, Node-2 and many other elements pool our resources for a robust and have gained for Europe the respect and sustained space exploration effort. compliments from all international partners. Special credit goes to past ESA Directors of human spaceflight

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activities, Jörg Feustel-Büechl, who had contribute to a significant level in space for such a long time skilfully managed exploration will have a real say in a the ESA ISS programme, and Daniel possible evolution of the current Sacotte, under whose mandate all the international principles regulating the use major European elements were launched of outer space. and successfully commissioned. The main themes that ESA will be Through the participation in the ISS presenting to the Ministers of ESA endeavour, ESA has been able to gain an Member States, in the ESA Ministerial important experience in human Council in Den Haag in November 2008, spaceflight. The European Astronaut are: Corps is a valuable asset for Europe, not – building on the investments made in only for the individual European countries, the past and the resulting industrial but also for our international partners as know-how and human capital; the recent positive performances of our – contributing to a knowledge-based astronauts have shown. economy and social growth in Europe; In May and June this year, over – stimulating innovation and research; 9000 European men and women, from all – fostering European geopolitical role ESA Member States, enthusiastically and inspiring our citizens, and responded to ESA’s call for a new class of – providing a unifying and very astronauts. They are the proof that visible example of a world-class human spaceflight is not only a highly European programme. technical and innovation-rich activity, but These are ambitious but also can still make people dream. They affordable proposals regarding its future represent not only the individual wish to role in the global endeavour of space accomplish something exceptional like exploration. becoming an astronaut, but also the European decision-makers demon- desire to see Europe playing a visible role strated vision and inspiration when they in the future space exploration. backed the Aurora programme, first in Europe cannot afford to remain at the 2001 as a preparatory programme and margin of what is bound to be one of the subsequently in 2005 as a fully fledged great undertakings of this century. programme. These decisions have given Expanding human presence in the Europe the required leverage, credibility Universe, namely on the Moon and later and framework to be recognised, together on Mars, will positively mark humankind with the recent successful missions, as a A close-up view of ESA's Columbus laboratory and and our societies. This great challenge credible and important partner in space Node-2 photographed by an STS-122 crewmember on will be a source of inspiration and of exploration. Space Shuttle Atlantis shortly after the undocking of mutual understanding as we cooperate to The ExoMars mission in 2013 is not the two spacecraft in February 2008 (NASA) reach a goal unattainable by any nation only a European flagship mission, but on its own. Resolving the engineering and also a key element of the international logistic issues of sustained surface effort to better understand and operations, with the requirements in term characterise Mars in preparation of of mobility, energy and life support future human missions. The work systems, will boost research and conducted on architectures, generic innovation in fields that are also vital to exploration technologies, life-support the well being of millions of men and systems and, in particular, on a Mars women on Earth. Sample Return mission concept has reinforced this role for ESA and Europe. Themes For the Future Space exploration will also be a great Autonomy and Cooperation diplomatic and geopolitical opportunity We need to keep this direction and at the where the relative influence will be as same time consider a step forward to important as the capabilities each player enhance our role and increase our can display. Additionally it is likely that autonomy, both to reinforce partnerships only those nations that participate and and to better serve European interests.

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ESA astronaut Hans Schlegel seen during his ‘Autonomy for enhanced cooperation’ is spacewalk on the STS-122 mission to install Columbus. how we like to refer to it. Increasing (Right) ESA's ATV Jules Verne seen in flight before European capabilities for the reasons docking with the ISS in April 2008 (NASA) described will eventually result in a more robust and sustainable global space exploration effort. Only one element will allow Europe to make this leap and reach a higher status among spacefaring nations, and this unique element is an autonomous capability in space transportation and its further evolution.

The Next Logical Evolution The ATV’s capabilities are a great help to overall ISS logistics and a pride for Europe, ESA and our industry. We have the duty to build on this accomplishment, to continue down the path of a European capability that would return cargo initially and to prepare for its next logical evolution. Industry has already been working on similar concepts. Today it seems that there is also a convergence among key players in the institutional European space landscape. Our successes have boosted our confidence and provided us with a capital of credibility that will evaporate if we wait too long. The international context is favourable as space exploration is top on the agenda of most of the space agencies worldwide. We need to seize this opportunity and in the next months lay down the foundations for European programmes that will determine our role and positioning in the decades to come, and that will probably define our contribution to one of the biggest enterprises that humankind will undertake this century - taking humans to the surface of a distant world.

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Andrés Gálvez & Géraldine Naja-Corbin General Studies Programme, Institutional Matters and Strategic Studies Office, ESA HQ, Paris, France Artist's impression of a commercial spaceport (Virgin Galactic)

uborbital spaceflights offering opportunities to ‘touch’ space and experience S ‘weightlessness’ are creating substantial public interest. These developments are closely related to ESA’s core business, and we are observing them with interest.

What Do We Mean by ‘Space Tourism’? There are different possible definitions of ‘space tourism’. Here we use the term to mean suborbital flights by privately funded and/or privat e ly operat e d vehicles and the associated technology d evelopment driven by the space tourism market. Current Context Activities linked to space tourism have been gaining momentum and we have seen some re m a r k able achieve m e n t s during the last few years, such as the flight of SpaceShipOne. There is large p u blic interest in human suborbital flights, and the figures of prospective p aying customers quoted in re c e n t market surveys show that space tourism o ffers the potential for sustained progress similar to what happened in the

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Today, students and scientists can experience 'weightlessness' while flying on modified aircraft for microgravity research early days of aviation. Suborbital flight this emerging industry, seve ra l o f its ‘Study of E u ropean privat e ly vehicles, designed for use over and over assessments have been carried out by funded vehicles for commercial human again, could gradually bring down the ESA over the last four ye a r s. Fo r s p a c e f l i g h t ’ at ESTEC in The c o s t s, as the technology and the i n s t a n c e, ESA has coord i n ated and Netherlands; the study was aimed to o p e rational ap p roa ch become more participated in a European Commission understand the dynamics of s p e c i f i c mature. FP-6 funded study on the development European space tourism ventures. The cost for individuals to fly on a of commercial high-altitude flight. On As a fo l l ow - u p, an internal ESA manned suborbital spaceflight wa s 7 November 2007, ESA’s Genera l Working Group was set up with the goal initially projected at about US$ 200 000 Studies Programme presented the results of making recommendations based on with over 200 private persons having made an advance payment to fly on A publicity poster concept for Spaceport Sweden, a company that plans to make Kiruna the primary European spaceport for personal suborbital spaceflight and space tourism. It is a cooperation between the S p a c e S h i p Two in the case of Vi rg i n SpaceShipOne seen making its historic suborbital flight in June 2004 (Virgin Galactic) Swedish Space Corporation, the Jukkasjärvi Icehotel, LFV Group and Kiruna’s business-development company Progressum (Spaceport Sweden) Galactic. This is expected subsequently to drop to about US$ 50 000 with roughly 16 000 passengers interested to these studies; their work was endorsed Technology and operations profitable way. This achievement would fly in 2021, according to the ‘Space by all ESA Directors on 14 April. The The growth of space tourism wo u l d have a significant impact in the space Tourism Market Study’ conducted in International Academy of Astronautics’ encompass significant new deve l o p - s e c t o r. In the aeronautics sector, if 2002 by FUTRON, a US-based space ‘First Symposium on Private H uman ments in aerospace technologies, and successful, such development could lead consultancy firm. Access to Space’ in May 2008 provided bring an aeronautics perspective to in the long term to high-speed vehicle These developments might have deep the opportunity to present these space technology development and concepts, with the potential to reduce and significant implications for space conclusions to a wider ex t e r n a l operations, in particular concerning the drastically the duration of long-distance activities as a whole. Being at the heart audience. aspects of re u s ability and ro u t i n e flights. o f E u ro p e ’s space activ i t i e s, ESA is processes associated to the high flight expected to have a position on space Different Dimensions of Space Tourism rates. So far, it has been demonstrated Commercialisation and partnership tourism, and needs to have a Relating to ESA Activities that suborbital flight at around 100 km development c o o rd i n ated and corporate ap p ro a c h There are many different aspects linked can be successfully carried out a few Space tourism efforts are also related to with respect to these activities. to space tourism that may have an times in a row with a prototype vehicle. the ultimate goals of human spaceflight impact on ESA. The major features of The real challenge will be to have a p rog ra m m e s, i.e. enabling ro u t i n e A Position on Space Tourism such relationships are: vehicle that allows flying many missions, human access to space and the To provide a better understanding of with associated operat i o n s, in a preparation of the long-term, sustained

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Subordinal Flight is an EADS Astrium concept for a takeoff and one-stage journey into space for up to five people. Beginning with a Artist’s impression of future space travellers enjoying the 'weightless' environment (Virgin Galactic) 45-minute cruise to an altitude of 12 km, rocket propulsion takes over from the jet engines and the space plane is boosted in almost vertical attitude for 80 seconds to ascend to over 100 km (EADS) human exploration of the Solar System. from space tourism undertakings could to the local legal framework – which industry, in view of the opportunities it p a r t i c u l a r, the notion of ‘ l a u n c h i n g visibility and perception of h u m a n In this sense there is also a link between one day become building blocks of a might be diff e rent from country to may create, but also of the competition s t ate(s)’, through its administrat ive s p a c e f l i g h t / ex p l o ration in the genera l space tourism activities and exploration open space exploration scenario. country. It is therefore essential that the it may foster. In order to support the national agency designated for carrying public. ESA will have to consider such programmes, even if the end-objectives civil aviation regulatory authorities of emergence of new European capabilities out space activities, will have a role to d e velopment in its commu n i c at i o n and re q u i rements are completely L egal aspects and regulatory fra m e wo rk the countries concerned and the without distorting such competition, p l ay in exe rcising jurisdiction and strategy. On one hand, the aim should be different. The challenges for space tourism are not competent agencies of the Euro p e a n ESA should care f u l ly define the control over that activity. to take advantage of such additional There is thus an interest in supporting only technical ones. Especially in the Union are at the forefront of the setting boundaries of a ny space tourism outreach activity for the benefit of the the emergence of private business in the European context, there are important up of a regulatory framework for space support activities in line with the ESA Communication aspects and visibility of space sector; on the other, ESA should context of human spaceflight. In the aspects to be addressed from a legal tourism adapted to the Euro p e a n Convention. space activities use its communication tools to explain longer term, and based on technologies standpoint. scenario. Finally, since in the longer term space The development of a larger space the differences in technical complexity, developed in the frame of institutional Space tourism will be carried out ESA must also consider other legal tourism should invo l ve traveling in tourism market and potentially a larger requirements and ambitions of space p rog ra m m e s, privat e ly developed and substantially in the airspace of a given m at t e r s. Space tourism will certainly space, some rules of space law may also number of c i t i zens ex p e r i e n c i n g tourism and those of ‘classical’ human operated infrastructure elements derived country and therefore, it will be subject have a significant influence on aerospace find application for space tourism; in spaceflight will have an impact on the spaceflight and exploration activities.

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Guidelines of ESA’s Position on Space Tourism re g u l atory authorities and Considering the balance between the competent bodies from the EC, potential advantages of space tourism aiming also at a ‘more level playing (high visibility of s p a c e, add i t i o n a l f i e l d ’ for all parties around the d eve lopment efforts of s p a c e world, and supporting the interests t e c h n o l og i e s, increased appeal fo r of European industry. science and technology educat i o n , 5. ESA should facilitate the free flow of creation of new commercial markets, ideas among all interested European etc.) and its potential risks or drawbacks p a r t i e s, e.g. by establishing a ( e nv i ronmental aspects, safety issues, platform for voluntary information exc l u s ive ness of an activity aimed exchange. i n i t i a l ly at a small minority of t h e population), ESA is taking a position of Summary cautious interest and informed support, ESA re c ogn ises the private sector’s with the following guidelines: e fforts both in the achievement of suborbital flights and in the associated 1. ESA should monitor the re l eva n t technological development. We intend t e c h n o l ogy activities and assess to show this re c ognition by helping whether spin-ins and spin-offs could provide the necessary environment for be env i s aged fo r / f rom Euro p e a n this industry to flourish, for example by space programmes. assisting in the setting up of l e g a l 2. While avoiding interfering in the f r a m ewo rks for operation acro s s development of a fully competitive E u ro p e, involving civil av i at i o n market, ESA should further reflect authorities and other relevant bodies in on possible partnership with debate. E u rop ean ve n t u res or support Private developers of space tourism a c t i o n s, based on mutual intere s t could also gain by collaborating with and demonstrated technical and ESA on areas of re c ognised ESA c o m m e rcial mat u r i t y, without expertise such as astronaut training and nevertheless exposing ESA to any space medicine, as part of their efforts l i abilities re l ated to bu s i n e s s to ensure thorough pre p a ration pro - ex p l o i t ation. To this end, legal g rammes for space tourists and safe schemes should be defined to allow flight experiences. for such activities, as allowed within These areas of expertise should be the principles laid out in the ESA c o n s i d e red on top of the vast wealth of Convention. a l re a dy developed and mat u r i n g 3. Provision of services by ESA in the t e c h n o l og y, plus ideas that are still domain of human spaceflight, in u n d e rgoing inve s t i g atio n and ex p e r i - particular ‘astronaut training’, i.e. ment. In order to facilitate the free fl ow provision of expertise for developing o f ideas among all interested Euro p e a n d e d i c ated training prog r a m m e s p l aye r s, ESA intends to help establish a and/or facilities for specific tourist p l at fo r m for voluntary info r m at i o n flight opportunities, and ‘space exchange and interdisciplinary discus- medicine’, i.e. provision of expertise sion. Some pilot experiences and intense to develop dedicated medical d eb ates taking place in the frame of t h e p re p a ration prog rammes of s p a c e GSP study last year we re alre a dy ve r y tourists, should also be explored for p o s i t ive and inspiring. mutual benefit, making ava i l abl e While ESA must be careful not to ESA’s competences under conditions interfere in a fully competitive market, to be defined. its experience, achievements to date, eye 4. ESA should contribute in the for opportunity and bold vision of space development of a regulatory frame u t i l i s ation should make a va l u abl e Artist impression of a futuristic commercial for space tourism in Euro p e, contribution to this exciting new phase spaceport (Virgin Galactic) i nvolving both civil av i at i o n of human endeavour. e

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F. Emma, R. Walker, H. Page & R. Reinhard Education Office, Directorate of Legal Affairs and External Relations, ESTEC, Noordwijk, The Netherlands

J. Ventura-Traveset Communication & Education Office, Directorate of Legal Affairs and External Relations, ESAC, Villafranca, Spain

he purpose of ESA’s Education Office is to motivate young people to study science T and technology and, in particular, to ensure a qualified workforce for ESA and the European space sector in the future.

Introduction The Education Office supports student ‘ h a n d s - o n’ a c t ivities including the design, development, integrat i o n , testing, launching and operations of small satellites such as CubeSats and CanSats, and the provision of payloads on satellites, sounding rockets, stratospheric balloons and parabolic flights. Many thousands of European students have taken part in the various projects facilitated by the Education Office in the 10 years of its existence (1998–2008). History The ESA Education Office was set up in 1998 by René Oosterlinck, then Head of Legal Aff a i r s, Pro c e d u re s, Rules and O rg a n i s ational Mat t e r s, with fo rm e r ESA astronaut Wu bbo Ockels as its Head. Since September 2007, the office

esa bulletin 135 - august 2008 27 European students, taking part in an ESA Education Microgravity Research Campaign, are seen here floating in 'zero g' during a parabolic flight in an Airbus A300 aircraft

F. Emma, R. Walker, H. Page & R. Reinhard Education Office, Directorate of Legal Affairs and External Relations, ESTEC, Noordwijk, The Netherlands

J. Ventura-Traveset Communication & Education Office, Directorate of Legal Affairs and External Relations, ESAC, Villafranca, Spain

esa bulletin 135 - august 2008 27 Education Education

has been headed by Francesco Emma. wo rkshops at ESTEC wh e re the The office now has three units: the student teams ag reed on their Policy and Coord i n ation Unit, the interfaces and could get advice fro m Education Projects Activities Unit and experts; the European Space Astronomy Centre – m a n aged the integration and testing (ESAC) unit located at Villafranca near o f the satellite including the prov i s i o n Madrid. The latter is integrated within o f the test facilities; and the ESAC Communication & Education – m a n aged the launch campaign. Office. Express was launched on 27 October For many ye a r s, concerns have been 2005 by a Cosmos ro c ket from the voiced in Europe about the grow i n g Plesetsk Cosmodrome in northern i n d i ff e rence of students towa rds scientific Russia into a Sun-synchronous, circular and technology disciplines. During the orbit at 686 km altitude. Unfortunately, Lisbon conference in 2000, the Euro p e a n due to a failure in the electrical power Council devised a strategy to help re d u c e subsystem, the satellite batteries could the scarcity of human capital in the not be recharged and the satellite shut E u ropean Science, Engineering and d own after 12.5 hours of n o r m a l Te c h n o l ogy (SET) domain. o p e rat ion. Neve r t h e l e s s, in many The Education Office, while serving respects, Express was a success. Of the the general needs of E u ro p e, 19 subsystems, 12 operated successfully, p a r t i c u l a rly focuses its efforts in five could not be tested because the Artist's impression of Express in orbit increasing the skills and knowledge of mission ended prematurely, and only youngsters with regard to space. The two failed. Valuable lessons were learned overall strategy is to target students aged during the development, integrat i o n , be space-qualified for later use on the comprises a single-axis reaction wheel, between 6 and 28 years. Its hands-on testing and operational phases of the E u ropean Student Moon Orbiter four nitrogen cold-gas attitude thrusters a c t iv i t i e s, involving both suborbital p roject, with the malfunction itself (ESMO). and a main thruster for orbit control. experiments and satellite projects, offer being the most va l u able lesson. The The box-shaped (70 x 70 x 80 cm) This main thruster is used at the end of practical experience to undergraduate media impact was enormous, with an s atellite has four deployabl e, Sun- the mission for lowering the perigee in and postgraduate university students. estimated 100 million viewers watching t racking solar panels. The at t i t u d e o rde r to ensure reentry due to the launch of Express on TV. d e t e r m i n ation system comprises two atmospheric drag within 25 years, thus Student Educational Satellites Sun sensors, a three-axis magnetometer, c o m p lying with the European space A number of small satellites have been, E u ropean Student Earth Orbiter a three-axis gyroscope and a star d ebris Code of Conduct. Mission or are being, developed with the support (ESEO) t ra c ke r. The attitude control system lifetime is not expected to exceed one of the ESA Education Office. ESEO is a 110 kg micro s at e l l i t e month, considering the harsh energetic c u r re n t ly due for launch into a Making final adjustments to the Express student satellite at particle environment in the radiation Express geostationary transfer orbit (GTO) as ESTEC, The Netherlands, in September 2005 belts in GTO and the fact that student Express was a box-shaped (60 x 60 x an auxiliary payload in 2011. To achieve teams can genera l ly only affo rd 70 cm) microsatellite with a launch mass its mission objectives, ESEO will carry a c o m m e rc i a l - o ff - t h e - s h e l f e l e c t ro n i c of 62 kg, including as passengers three narrow-angle camera for taking images components. ‘picosatellites’ (CubeSats) of 1 kg each o f Earth. Four charged particle A low Earth orbit (LEO) mission is and their associated deployment system. detectors measure the total radiation c u r re n t ly being considered as an Express was built entirely by student dose re c e ive d at diff e rent locat i o n s a l t e r n at ive to the baseline GTO option teams, taking in only 18 months from outside and inside the sat e l l i t e, a because of the reduced launch cost. start to launch. The Education Office Langmuir probe on a 40 cm deployable Should this be retained the deployabl e provided networking facilities that: pole measures the instantaneous solar array s, the main thruster and – e n abled the student teams to ra d i ation, and a series of d e d i c at e d most of the nitrogen would not be exchange info r m ation and discuss memory chips indicate the effects of needed. This, together with a few technical issues, solutions and radiation on the satellite’s electronics. a dditional minor sav i n g s, would re s u l t schedule; ESEO will also test technologies in in a reduced launch mass of 80 kg. A – identified a suitable launch oppor- orbit, for example, thin film solar cells launch on the VERTA 1 qualificat i o n tunity and cove red the launch cost; mounted on deployable solar panels, a flight (VERTA is the Vega Re s e a rc h – p rovided technical and manag e m e n t reaction wheel, a thrust vector system and Te c h n o l ogy Accompaniment c o o rd i n at i o n ; with a carbon-fibre nozzle, and a star p rog ramme) into a Sun-synchro n o u s, The Express satellite is launched on 27 October 2005 by a Cosmos rocket from Plesetsk in Russia – o rganised and sponsored re g u l a r tracker developed by students that will c i rcu lar orbit at 700 km altitude is

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designed, developed, built, tested and on-board liquid bipropellant propulsion operated by students. Its objectives are system will be used to transfer the to prepare the next generation of lunar spacecraft from GTO to its operational explorers, image the Moon from lunar lunar orbit via the Sun-Earth L1 orbit for public outreach, and conduct Lagrange point. niche science/technology ex p e r i m e n t s The project successfully completed a re l ated to future lunar ex p l o rat i o n . one-year Phase-A Feasibility Study and Some 300 students from 29 universities passed its Phase-A Rev i ew at a in 12 countries are currently partici- workshop in ESTEC in December 2007. pating in the project. The ESMO Phase-B/C/D/E1 contract is In order to achieve these objectives, a due to start at the beginning of 2009, m i n i aturised payload would perfo r m following the same contractual set-up measurements in lunar orbit over a six- established for ESEO. month period. The core payload is a 2.5 kg narrow angle camera for optical Second Young Engineers’ Satellite i m aging of specific locations on the (YES-2) lunar surface upon request fro m YES-2 was one student experiment on schools, and a 9 kg subsatellite, called b o a rd a Russian Foton-M3 spherical Lunette, for global gravity field mapping c ap s u l e. The Foton carried a micro - via accurate ranging of the subsatellite g ravity payload of 600 kg, prov i d e d f rom the main spacecraft. Lunette m o s t ly by re s e a rch institutes and would be deployed in a near-circular E u ropean industry under the manag e - polar orbit at 100 km altitude. Possible ment of the Dire c t o rate of H u m a n a l t e r n at ive scientific payloads under S p a c e f light (D/HSF). YES2 had the definition are a biological experiment to o b j e c t ive of d e m o n s t rating the ‘Space c h a r acterise the effects of the lunar M a i l ’ concept for the first time, by e nv i ronment on living cells, and a returning a capsule (with payload) safely p a s s i ve microwave radiometer to to Earth using a tether-assisted, de- measure the temperature of the lunar orbiting manoeuvre instead of a con- regolith a few metres below the surface. ventional re t ro - ro c ket propulsion system. The box-shaped (85 x 85 x 62 cm) YES2 was built and tested by ESMO mini-satellite has a launch mass university students from all over Europe of 250 kg. Electrical power (110 W) is under the supervision of the Education p rovided by body-mounted gallium O ffice and the industrial prime arsenide solar cells. The attitude and c o n t ractor Delta-Utec. The fl i g h t c o n t rol system comprises two star hardware installed on top of Foton-M3 trackers, four Sun sensors, two Inertial had three components: Artist's impression of a Cubesat in orbit M e a s u rement Units, four re a c t i o n – the Fo t o n - l o c ated YES2 Deploye r wheels and eight cold-gas thrusters. ( F LOYD), 21.7 kg, accommodating a D ownlink (8 kb/s Moon-Earth) and 31.7 km-long, 0.5 mm-thick, non- to locate Fotino on the ground after 8.5 km. Subsequent thorough analysis of uplink (4 kb/s Earth-Moon) communi- c o n d u c t ive tether; landing. As there was no telemetry raw telemetry data showed instead that cations are in the S-band. The ground – the Mechanical and data Acquisition f rom Fotino to FLOYD or to the the tether was fully deploye d . Top, Russian technicians lower YES2 onto the Foton-M3 spacecraft using a roof-mounted crane at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in s t ations at Malindi (10 m dish), and Support System (MASS), 7.9kg; g round, so all data was stored on U S S T R ATCOM radar tracking dat a Kazakhstan. Above, Foton-M3 is then placed inside the Soyuz rocket fairing, seen here alongside the Soyuz booster inside the Weilheim (15 or 30 m) and ESAC (15 m) –Fo t i n o, a small spherical capsule b o a rd Fotino and only be re t r i eved if and Foton-M3 accelerometer dat a Integration Building at Baikonur in September 2007 will be used during the mission, (5.6 kg, diameter 40 cm), equipped Fotino was found after landing. confirmed this result which was initially supplemented by additional cove rag e with a heat shield to survive re e n t r y. Foton-M3 was launched on 14 Sep- not evident because of a failure in the c u r re n t ly being ex p l o red, along with the subsystem wo rk of the students. The from Perth and Kourou in the early Inside Fotino there we re therm o - tember 2007 by a Soyuz launcher from optical detectors sensing the deployment c o m m e rcial launch opportunities. c u r rent GTO orbit will be compare d , GTO phase. c o u p l e s, therm i s t o r s, pre s s u re B a i ko nu r. YES2 tether deploy m e n t of the tether. This failure also caused a The ESEO project Phase-B2 (con- during the Inv i t at i o n - t o - Tender pro c e s s, ESMO will be launched into GTO s e n s o r s, accelero m e t e r s, gyro s c o p e s, started on 25 September. During the release of the Fotino capsule with a s o l i d ation of p reliminary design) is due with a possible LEO mission. f rom Ko u rou in 2012, flying as a and a magnetometer to measure o p e ration of YES2, the summary higher than planned speed acting to begin in September 2008 and for the secondary payload by using the Ariane re l evant physical parameters during telemetry data obtained from Foton-M3 against the direction of orbital motion. first time it will be implemented with a European Student Moon Orbiter S t r u c t u r e for Auxiliary Pay l o a d s re e n t r y, a GPS re c e iver to determ i n e t h rough the Russian ground stat i o n This caused the Fotino capsule to prime contractor to perfo rm the system (ESMO) (ASAP) adapter on Ariane-5 or Soyuz. its location, a parachute to ensure a network indicated that the tether only reenter the atmosphere at slightly steeper engineering, and coord i n ate and guide ESMO is a mini-satellite mission to be O ver a period of t h ree months, an soft landing and an ARGOS beacon partially deployed to a total length of angle than planned. It has been

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estimated that Fotino may have landed cations power is of course very limited about 800 km short of the expected and so CubeSats can only have a landing area, perhaps in the Aral Sea, reasonable downlink data rate (9.6 kb/s) which could explain the failure of the up to about 800 km orbital altitude. A RGOS beacon to send a signal On 28 May 2007, René Oosterlinck acknowledging the landing. (then ESA Director of Legal Affairs and The hands-on educational objectives External Relations) and Antonio Fabrizi o f the project exceeded ex p e c t at i o n s. ( D i rector of Launchers) signed an Some 450 students participated in the ag reement to include an educat i o n a l YES2 project from over 50 universities payload on the maiden flight of Vega, t h roughout the project lifecycle with ESA’s new small launch vehicle which is about 120 students from five university c u r re n t ly under development. This centres of excellence involved in the later e d u c ational payload consists of n i n e build and test phases of the engineering CubeSats with two back-up CubeSats and flight models, when the that can replace the primary satellites i m p l e m e n t ation ap p roa ched that of should they not be ready in time. ESA space project standards. To support the selection of t h e Due to its innovative nature and large C u b e S ats for Vega, a wo rkshop wa s student invo l vement, the ex p e r i m e n t organised by the Education Office on received a high level of public outreach 22 –24 January 2008. The workshop at in various media, including TV, internet, ESTEC was the first of its kind at a newspapers and magazines in Europe European level and brought together The BEXUS balloon gondola sitting on its transport vehicle with the stratospheric balloon in the background. The balloon has a total and internat i o n a l ly. This was we l l almost all of the European CubeSat volume of 10 000 m3 and grows to a diameter of 40 m when the maximum altitude is reached complemented by a compre h e n s ive, teams for the first time. There are now regularly updated project mini-website 35 teams developing CubeSats in ESA on the ESA Education web portal and a Member States and Cooperating States. not in operation 97% of the time. This is D o p p l e r, and data decoded. more informal student website. Amateur highly inefficient and often, despite on- Since then, the GSS application has observers in Alaska and Antarctica also Global Educational Network for Satellite board data storage capability, a limiting been installed in three further ground attempted to image the tether in orbit, Operations (GENSO) factor in mission return. stations in the UK, California and Japan but unfo r t u n at e ly local we at h e r As a complementary hands-on activity M o re ove r, there are sometimes to run tests for tracking satellites and conditions prevented these efforts. to CubeSat s, GENSO is a planned mission critical operations re q u i r i n g a u t o m at i c a l ly scheduling passes. A n e t wo rk of over 100 small gro u n d uninterrupted cove rage for seve ra l GENSO detailed design review will take CubeSats s t ations that is intended to prov i d e h o u r s. In the worst-case scenario, if place at ESTEC in September 2008, A CubeSat is a fully operabl e global, near- c o n t i nuous cove rage of there is an on-board emergency, there is closing out the Alpha softwa re p i c o s atellite for educational purposes e d u c ational satellites in LEO. The no immediate access to the sat e l l i t e. development phase. Thereafter, the Beta which measures 10 x 10 x 10 cm, weighs network is being implemented under the H oweve r, the situation wo u l d Phase will begin, involving a number of up to 1 kg and uses Commercial Off- auspices of the International Space d r a m at i c a l ly improve if the sat e l l i t e tests at some 20 ground stations during The-Shelf electronic components. The Education Board (ISEB) with CNES, could be tra c ked by other gro u n d 2009, and ending with the Critical CubeSat standard was defined in 1999 CSA, ESA, JAXA and NASA as stations along its ground track. Design Rev i ew in September 2009. by Stanford University and California member space agencies. During a wo rkshop at the Unive r s i t y GENSO is expected to be fully Polytechnic State University. CubeSats At present, a university typically bu i l d s o f A a l b o rg in November 2007, a operational by mid-2010. can be built for €50 000–€100000, plus a small satellite (e.g. a CubeSat) and successful pro o f o f concept wa s € 250 00–€ 50000 for the launch. This launches it into low Earth orbit. It also d e m o n s t rated when an Au t h e n t i c at i o n Other Hands-on Projects price, compared to larger satellites and bu i l d s, or alre a dy has ava i l abl e, a gro u n d S e r ver in Austria was connected to the Ro c ket/Balloon Experiments for their associated higher launch costs, has s t ation to track the satellite and facilitat e G round Station Server (GSS) and the University Students (REXUS/BEXUS) made CubeSats a viable option fo r u p l i n k / d ownlink telecommu n i c at i o n s. Mission Control Client (MCC) REXUS and BEXUS are five - ye a r universities across the world. The period of a low Earth orbit is ap p l i c ations installed on the Aalborg p rog rammes providing Swedish and Apart from the standard sat e l l i t e t y p i c a l ly about 90 minu t e s, but the g round station. Japanese and American G e r man university students with the subsystems (power, telecommunications, duration of a satellite pass over the h a rdwa re drivers we re configured to opportunity to launch educat i o n a l attitude determination and control, on- ground station is very short and varies c o n t rol the ground station hardwa re, and experiments on sounding rockets and board data handling and storage) most from approximately 10 minutes in the telemetry was re c e ived from four student stratospheric balloons. Three cycles are CubeSats carry one or two scientific best case to no coverage at all for most s atellites – the passes we re scheduled, the e nv i s aged during these prog r a m m e s, Used in the REXUS programme, the Improved Orion M112 is an unguided solid-propellant single-stage rocket, launched from Kiruna in instruments or a technology demon- of the orbits. When supporting only one s atellites tra c ked from horizon to each beginning with a Call fo r Sweden s t r ation payload. The telecommu n i - satellite project, the ground station is horizon, the radio set and corrected fo r Experiment Proposals and ending with

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Spain and Portugal, which will be fl ow n and consist typically of two to four It is also intended that some of the a parachute or para foil opens and 5–2 0 at the end of Ju ly, and four from high s t u d e n t s, together with an endorsing best teams not finally selected for the m i nutes later the CanSat makes a soft schools in the UK, Belgium and Swe d e n professor, appointed as the Experiment flights will be invited to perform some landing. The drop time, during which it (2), which will be fl own in September. Principal Coordinator. m i c rog ravity re s e a rch using ESA’s t ransmits telemetry, is comparable to These teams will work on a detailed microgravity and hypergravity facilities the horizon-to-horizon pass of a Student parabolic flight experiments: Fly m i c rog r avity scientific ex p e r i m e n t (e.g. the Large Diameter Centrifuge) at s atellite in low Earth orbit. Their Your Thesis! p roposal, with the support of a n E S T E C. This is curre n t ly under a dva n t age s are that they can be built at Parabolic flights were proposed by ESA ELGRA mentor. The teams will present assessment and considered an important very low cost, typically under €1000 to foster university student interest in their projects to a Rev i e w Board complementary aspect of the new and can be proposed, designed, bu i l t , microgravity research all over Europe. t h rough a dedicated wo rkshop at programme. tested and launched in six to nine The Student Parabolic Flight Campaign ESTEC in December 2008. This Board m o n t h s. (SPFC) was the first hands-on activity will then select the best three or four CanSats The building of a CanSat usually offered by ESA, staring in 1994. The last teams that will eventually fly their thesis A CanSat is a ‘satellite’ accommodated i nvo l ves participation in a competition full ESA student campaign was held in in 2009. ESA is also assessing the within the volume and shape of a for university and high school students. 2006. possibility for all preliminary selected regular soft drink can. The CanSat Such competitions are org a n i s e d After 2006, the whole ESA Parabolic teams to visit the ESA Euro p e a n concept was introduced in 1998 by re g u l a rly in diff e rent parts of the wo r l d . Flight prog ramme was subject to a Astronaut Centre facilities in Germany. Professor Robert Twiggs from Stanford The competitions are in two cat e g o r i e s : thorough review, and several managerial The final thre e / four teams will design University. Just like a real satellite, a the standard CanSats (370 g) and the and safety recommendations were made and build their experiment rack in the C a n S at consists of a ‘bu s ’ and a ‘Open Class’ ( over 1 kg), which often Operated by Novespace, ESA uses the Airbus A300 'Zero-G' for its parabolic flight campaigns (Novespace) for future campaigns. Following these first half o f 2009, assisted by qualified p ayload. The bus comprises the includes a mini-rove r. In Euro p e, re c o m m e n d ations and specific inter- p rofessionals and their ELG R A structure (the aluminium soft drink can, C a n S at competitions are being held in actions between the ESA Educat i o n m e n t o r. The cost of the manu f a c t u re antenna, circuit board), power (battery), The Netherl a n d s, France and Spain. the launches. A cycle comprises two student experiments is about 30 kg. Office and the Directorate of Human will be partly supported by the ESA t e l e c o m mu n i c ations (transmitter), on- The Education Office has org a n i s e d ro c ket launches and two balloon BEXUS uses a 12SF helium balloon Spaceflight, a new programme concept E d u c ation Off i c e. The experiments will b o a r d computer and the re c ove r y some CanSat activities in the past and launches. All launches are managed by from Zodiac (France), which can carry a called ‘Fly Your Thesis! An Astronaut then be fully integrated within ESA’s system (parachute). The payload may has been requested to organise a E u rolaunch and take place fro m student experiment mass of 40 kg to a ex p e r i e n c e ’ has been ag reed fo r 51st Microg r avity Re s e a rch Campaign consist of sensors for measuring E u ropean-wide competition. E s ra n g e, near Kiruna, in northern ceiling of 35 km. The floating phase at 2008/2009. The fo l l owing aspects are ( M RC) for two weeks in fall 2009 in a c c e l e r at i o n s, the ambient air Sweden. On each launch, half of the ceiling altitudes can last up to fo u r especially emphasised: B o rdeaux, Fra n c e. Here, they will temperature, pressure and humidity, a Conclusions p ayload re s o u rces are ava i l able to hours. The first REXUS and BEXUS – Academic: the experiment wo rk mu s t experience three fl i g h t s, each of differential GPS, a camera (pictures or Up to 10 000 European students have S wedish students, the other half t o flights with eight European student be an integral part of the student’s 30 parab o l a s, one parabola lasting video), attitude determination sensors been invo l ved in the various hands-on German students. The flights are funded experiments selected by the Education s y l l abu s. This can be through a 20 seconds. This will allow the selected or a mini-rover. a c t i vities announced, managed and by the Swedish National Space Board Office will take place in March 2009 and Master thesis, a PhD thesis, a teams to be in contact with ex p e r i e n c e d A CanSat is launched by an amat e u r funded by the ESA Education Off i c e. (SNSB) and the Deutsches Zentrum für October 2008, respectively. re s e a rch prog ramme or any fo rm of p rofessional scientific teams fro m ro c ket to an altitude of 5 0 0–4000 m. They have been able to visit ESTEC Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR). p roject supported by the ap p l i c a n t ’s a c ross Euro p e. After release from the ro c ket at ap og e e, and participate in wo r k s h o p s, pro j e c t For their share of the pay l o a d s, SNSB S t rat ospheric Platform Experiment u n ive r s i t y. rev i ew s, integration and test campaigns. has decided to invite students from all (STRAPLEX) – Scientific: the quality of the scientific A typical 'Cansat' (Univ. of Wurzburg) They have pre p a red the re q u i r e d ESA Member States to participate in the STRAPLEX is a collab o ration betwe e n p roposals will be rev i ewed by a high- d o c u m e n t a tion according to semi- REXUS and BEXUS campaigns. To this the University of Porto and ESA wh i c h l evel Board panel, including ex p e r t s p rofessional standards and participat e d end, SNSB has asked the ESA Educat i o n began in 2005. It invo l ves balloons that f rom ESA and ELGRA (the in commu n i c ation and outre a c h O ffice to make European-wide announ- a re launched from Évo ra in Portugal and E u ropean Low Gravity Re s e a rc h a c t i v i t i e s. They have benefited from the cements for the two annual oppor- can reach an altitude of 34 km with a A s s o c i ation). support by ESTEC staff on these t u n i t i e s, select the ex p e r i m e n t s, manag e p ayload mass of 4.5 kg. Since the end of – O u t reach: the ESA Education Off i c e, p rojects and from discussions with the interface between the selected 2005, four qualification flights have been in close coord i n ation with the ESA these ex p e r t s. Throughout all these experiment teams from Euro p e a n s u c c e s s f u l ly completed. The last one of C o m mu n i c ation and Know l e d g e p rocesses they have met fellow students u n iversities and SNSB and Euro l a u n c h / t h e s e, on 2 May 2008, included for the Department, will stress the f rom other European countries, learned E s ra n g e, and cover the expenses of first time a lightweight (0.5 kg) o u t re a c h / c o m mu n i c ation aspects to h ow to wo rk successfully as a team, and E u ropean students to attend all of t h e t ra n s p o n d e r. On 22 October 2006, two foster interest in Europe for science, e s t ablished va l u able contacts at ESTEC a s s o c i ated activities (wo rk s h o p s, tra i n i n g experiments – a ra d i ation measure m e n t ESA activities and microg r av i t y and in the space industry. Seve ra l week, rev i ews and launch campaign). system from the University of Va l e n c i a re s e a rc h . h u n d r ed Masters and PhD theses have In the REXUS campaign, a spin- and an accelerometer from a Dutch A new call for student experiments resulted from these pro j e c t s, and the stabilised, solid-propellant, single-stage school – we re fl own successfully and has been launched in June 2008, for a a c t i ve invo l vement in one of t h e rocket with an ‘Improved Orion’ motor STRAPLEX is now fully operat i o n a l . p r eliminary selection of about 20 p rojects of the Education Office has is used, reaching an altitude of 90– For this ye a r ’s campaign, six ex p e r i m e n t s u n ive rsity teams in September 2008. often been the first step towa rds a 100 km. The total available mass for we re selected, two from universities in These will come from all over Europe successful career in space. e

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34 esa bulletin 135 - august 2008 www.esa.int www.esa.int esa bulletin 135 - august 2008 35 Santa Maria Station

The antenna and view of the Montes das Gerhard Billig & Boris Smeds Flores area from the Santa Maria station Directorate of Operations and Infrastructure, ESOC, Darmstadt, Germany

Pier Michele Roviera Directorate of Launchers, ESA HQ, Paris, France

J. Pedro V. Poiares Baptista Directorate of Technical and Quality Management, ESTEC, Noordwijk, The Netherlands

he Santa Maria station, also known as ‘Montes das Flores’ (Hill of Flowers), is Tlocated on the Portuguese island of Santa Maria, in the Azores. Santa Maria is one of E S A’s first tracking stations with launcher tracking capability, used to receive real-time telemetry from launches from ESA’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana.

Introduction During any Ariane launch, the reception of vehicle data via telemetry is essential for seve ral re a s o n s, for example to p rovide info r m ation for the launch vehicle specialists and the customers and, of course, flight safety. Overall, m o r e than 1500 parameters are measured from the launch vehicle and recorded throughout the flight. All these data are received through a specific netwo rk of g rou nd stat i o n s, historically called ‘the Ariane network’. This is composed of several facilities, fully or partially dedicated to launch vehicle telemetry reception, and d eveloped by the ESA Ariane programmes and operated by the French space agency CNES/Guiana Space Centre (CSG). The Ariane network is

esa bulletin 135 - august 2008 37 Santa Maria Station

The antenna and view of the Montes das Gerhard Billig & Boris Smeds Flores area from the Santa Maria station Directorate of Operations and Infrastructure, ESOC, Darmstadt, Germany

Pier Michele Roviera Directorate of Launchers, ESA HQ, Paris, France

J. Pedro V. Poiares Baptista Directorate of Technical and Quality Management, ESTEC, Noordwijk, The Netherlands

esa bulletin 135 - august 2008 37 Operations and Infrastructure Santa Maria Station

tailored for the most common Ariane t rajectory (the geostationary tra n s f e r orbit, GTO), therefore its stations are based near the equatorial plane: Galliot s t ation (Ko u rou ), Natal (Bra z i l ) , Ascension Island in the South Atlantic Ocean (UK), Libreville (Gabon) and Malindi (Kenya). For some specific missions, with trajectories other than GTO, additional facilities must be set up. For long ballistic or steady-state flight phases, it is possible to use on-board dat a recorders to cover the reception ‘holes’ b e t ween one ground station and the next. However, for some key phases, for example engine start/shut-off and stages or payload separations, real-time data reception is mandatory. This means that specific re c e iving facilities must be ATV trajectory and ground station coverage positioned in the right geog rap h i c a l locations. One of these ‘exotic’ missions is the launch of ESA’s Automated Transfer the Kourou station, the existing Ariane inclined trajectories such as the ATV Vehicle (ATV), such as the flight of equatorial network was of no use and ones. The first site surveys were made Jules Verne that took place in March that a specific network had to be set up. jointly by ESA and CNES experts in The antenna dish under construction at Indra Espacio in Spain this year. This type of launch needed an In the same period, Portugal joined 2003. The Santa Maria Island, the inclined trajectory (about 50 degrees). ESA as a Member Stat e, and this southernmost of the archipelago, turned From the very first Ariane/ATV mission opened the discussions to investigate the out to be the best location, even if from São Miguel. Thanks to a very fruitful development called for an equipment This required the development of an analyses several years ago, it seemed possibility for setting up a telemetry a logistical point of view this solution cooperation between ESA, CNES and shelter to house the new installation, ‘ a u t o t r a c k ’ system that automat i c a l ly evident that after the loss of signal from reception site in the Azores islands, for was less easy than the main island of local authorities (the regional govern- and a new antenna system to receive the selects the best signal to steer the ment of the Azores and the Town Hall Ariane-5 telemetry. Indra Espacio S.A. antenna during the pass. Autotrack is of Vila do Porto), some possible sites was selected as supplier of the antenna. the cap ability of an antenna to The site for the new ground station in 2006, with concrete platform, access road, power supply and lightning protection were identified on the island. One of In addition the contract included the a u t o n o m o u s ly fo l l ow a target once these, in the ‘Monte das Flores’ area, re m o t e ly controlled calibration towe r acquired. This capability is crucial for 5 km from Vila do Porto, was selected. equipment. launcher tracking, because the pointing One key design parameter for the predictions may not be as accurate as for Ground Station Build-up antenna is to autotrack an S-band satellites in well-known orbits. When the ESOC involvement started, telemetry signal with a received flux As an extra option, an X-band feed the site for the new ground station was between –109 and –75 dBm/m2, and to with a dichroic reflector could be added already selected, and the infrastructure receive the Ariane-5 telemetry at a data to have the possibility to use the antenna was pre p a red to tempora r i ly host a rate of 1 Mb/s. For this a 5.5 m to re c e ive Earth observation sat e l l i t e p o r t able containerised station. It parabolic reflector made of carbon fibre data in X-band. The antenna uses an consisted of a concrete plat fo rm , sectors was selected with a new ly X-Y mount to avoid problems when lightning protection, an access road and developed prime focus feed. following targets at high elevation near connection to the public power supply. N o rm a l ly, satellites transmit on one zenith. There are still two points that the In July 2006, ESA awarded a contract f requency and the autotrack systems are antenna cannot easily cover, but they are to Carlo Gavazzi Space SpA to develop also designed for one fre q u e n c y. The located at the horizon in a direction the new ground station in Santa Maria. Ariane-5 telemetry is tra n s m i t t e d wh e re the ro c ket is not expected to The telemetry-receiving system (called s i mu l t a n e o u s ly on two diff e re n t appear. the TM kit) had already been developed f requencies from two antennas mounted The design also had to consider the by the company and was in use at on opposite sides of the spinning ro c ke t . p o s s i ble interference from nearby UMTS different equatorial ground stations to In this way at least one of the fre q u e n c i e s t ransmitters that had been found in ra d i o t r ack Ariane-5 launchers. The new will be seen from the ground station. f requency interference measure m e n t s

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customer took place between the gro u n d s t ation and CSG dire c t ly. These tests comprised all aspects of d ata exc h a n g e : ex t racted launcher telemetry, orbital p redictions as well as telemetry re c o rding.

Autotrack test campaign using an aircraft The launcher, as seen from the ground station, appears to have a much higher angular velocity than a satellite. This is mainly because the launcher is much closer when over Santa Maria, around 200 km compared to roughly 800 km for a satellite in a low-Earth orbit. O bv i o u s ly testing of the autotra c k function was highly desirabl e, both fo r Views (left) inside the power generator plant, and (right) the completed station the ESOC team as well as for CNES/ C S G, but this was not possible using s atellites as is norm a l ly done for tra c k i n g made at Santa Maria. The UMTS electrical power to the station by means i n t e g rating the station into the ESA s t at i o n s. The solution was to dow n s c a l e f requency was outside the nominal o f diesel generators and Uninterruptibl e Tracking Network. the geometry by a factor of about 100 Ariane-5 frequency band, but close Power Supplies. The design process was in and to replace the target with an airc ra f t enough to cause disturbance if not using close collab o ration with ESA. Validation carrying re p re s e n t at ive tra n s m i t t e r s. input filters for the re q u i red at t e nu at i o n F u r t h e rm o re, a site security system, a The majority of the va l i d ation tests wa s The equipment was installed in a o f the UMTS signals (UMTS, or fence and a telecom system was installed done the same as for satellite gro u n d 10-seat twin-propeller aircraft, with one U n iversal Mobile Te l e c o m mu n i c at i o n s to adequat e ly support the perm a n e n t s t at i o n s. Some of the re q u i re m e n t s, how - antenna in the front window and one in S e r v i c e, is a mobile computer and cell i n s t a l l ation. eve r, made ex t ra tests necessary, mainly the back, both radiating to the lefthand phone netwo rk standard ) . Inauguration of the complete ground the tracking and the end-to-end data fl ow side on the two different frequencies. In May 2007, the equipment shelters s t ation took place in Ja nuary 2008, t e s t s. End-to-end data fl ow tests with the For flight regulations, both antennas with the Ariane-5 telemetry kit and the had to be mounted inside, but the two c a l i b rati on tower equipment we re different locations made it possible to installed at Santa Maria. At the same The Portuguese Minister of Science, Technology and Higher Education, Prof. José Mariano Gago (left) shakes hands with Gaele Winters, see at least one antenna from the station. time the antenna system was assembl e d ESA's Director of Operations and Infrastructure, with Carlos Cézar, President of the Autonomous Region of the Azores, and José Contente This was also a good test case for the and partly tested at the factory in (right), Regional Secretary for Housing and Infrastructure at the formal inauguration of Santa Maria station, 17 January 2008 frequency diversity function. Madrid. Pe r fo r mance tests in the factory The pilots flew exactly along a path, we re limited since there was no access to defined by GPS coordinates, at a given a calibration tower and there was a lot of speed, simulating both passes of the domestic radio interference in the urban rocket over the ground station. The test a re a . was performed successfully in January In August 2007, the antenna wa s 2008, and the results confirmed the shipped to Santa Maria for installat i o n t h e o retical analysis and local Seen after the ATV launch, the full Santa Maria team including support (top, from left): Paulo Rocha, Ricardo Conde, Ricardo Mourao, and continued testing and commis- m e a s u rements alre a dy perfo r m e d Diego Rodriguez, Maite Arza, Herve Tailame, Boris Smeds, Aage Riise, (front) Robert Launer, Gerhard Billig sioning. From October, the station wa s earlier. With this, the antenna was fully used for training and pre p a ration by the validated and technically in a state to o p e rations team, in parallel with the support the launch. Edisoft/Segma/Global EDA and ESOC network was performed in January 2008. final engineering ve r i f i c ations and then e n g i n e e r s, underwent an intense tra i n i n g The Santa Maria station took part in the final autotrack tests with an airc ra f t Operational Preparation session by CNES at CSG in 2007, to this, when all the elements occurring in Ja nuary 2008. The operations perfo rmed for launcher understand the specifics and the elements during a normal launch countdown and t racking are somewh at diff e rent than o f o p e ration during a launch support. the launch support were exercised. In Infrastructure those for satellite tracking, but the a d dition to this, stat i o n - d e d i c at e d Since the plan changed to host the stat i o n p re p a rations for satellite support at Operational qualification operational and performance tests were p e rm a n e n t ly, the infra s t r u c t u re needed to ESOC fo r med a solid baseline for this The Santa Maria ground station was p e r fo r med, as also done for sat e l l i t e be adapted. From the Azores Re g i o n a l n ew type of support. The operat i o n s part of the Ariane-5 launcher tracking launch supports. This mainly covered G overnment, a power plant wa s team, composed of the maintenance and network for the ATV Jules Verne launch. contingency situations, which the team supplied, providing fully autonomous o p e r ations contractor consortium Operational qualification of that whole had to respond to, also under time

40 esa bulletin 135 - august 2008 www.esa.int www.esa.int esa bulletin 135 - august 2008 41 Operations and Infrastructure Santa Maria Station

40 esa bulletin 135 - august 2008 www.esa.int www.esa.int esa bulletin 135 - august 2008 41 Science Santa Maria Station

p re s s u re. By mid-Feb r u a r y, all pre - parations were finalised and the station ESA tracking stations ESA Deep Space Network was ready for launch. The ESA tracking stations network - E ST R ACK stations provide additional ESTRACK's new 35 m stations at New Norcia ESTRACK - is a worldwide system of s e r v i c e s, including searching for and (Deep Space Antenna 1, DSA 1) and Launch campaign ground stations providing links between a c q u i rin g new ly launched spacecra ft , Cebreros (DSA 2) form the European Deep The launch campaign started 10 days satellites in orbit and ESA’s European a u to t ra ck i n g, fre q u e n cy and timing contro l Space Network. b e fo re launch. Now the tests ag a i n Space Operations Centre in Germany. using atomic clocks and ga t h e rin g atmos- The core ESTRACK network comprises p h e ric and weather data . Some sta t i o n s The new stations provide the improved range, comprised the whole station network 13 terminals sited at nine stations in six a re also equipped with GPS re c e i ve rs radio technology and data rates required by and were mainly focused on the smooth countries. c o n n e c ted to our GPS Tra cking and Da ta current and next-generation exploratory wo rk - t ogether of all the invo l ve d A n a lysis Fa c i l i ty at ESOC, enabling highly missions such as Mars Express, Venus e n t i t i e s. This culminated with the The essential task of all ESA tracking p recise orbit and geophysical calculations. Express, Rosetta and BepiColombo. stations is to communicate with our Repetition Genera l e, which was a missions, up-linking commands and Each EST R ACK station hosts one or more simulation of the full launch countdown down-linking scientific data and te rm i n a l s, each of which comprises an and launch chronology. spacecraft status information. ESTRACK a n tenna and its associated signal stations also gather radiometric data to p rocessing equipment. S tations can help mission controllers know the s u p p o r t multiple missions and EST R AC K Launch countdown and launch support location, trajectory and velocity of their also shares re s o u rces with other agencies As the support to Ariane-5 for ATV spacecraft. and sate l l i te opera to rs. Cebreros takes longer than for a normal mission (1.5 orbits), also the countdown phase is ESTRACK Core Network ESTRACK Augmented Network longer. The station team was required to be on post 10 hours before lift-off. All Kourou (French Guiana), Maspalomas,Villafranca and Cebreros (Spain), Redu The ESTRACK system also includes (Belgium), Santa Maria (Portugal), Kiruna (Sweden) and Perth and New Norcia terminals operated by external organisations the pre p a rat ions and tests we n t (Australia). The ESA Perth ground station, located in Western Australia, is being on ESA’s behalf: nominally; everything was ‘green’ for the upgraded to receive launcher telemetry. launch. Lift-off took place at 05:03 CET 1. MAL-1 in Malindi (Kenya) in the night of 9 March 2008. Twelve 2. SG-3 in Svalbard (Norway) 3. AGO-1 in Santiago (Chile) minutes later, the Santa Maria station received the signal of the rocket and Additional stations are used in some cases, telemetry provision to CSG started. The including Alaska, Dongara and Weilheim whole pass went smoothly. The rocket (used most recently for Cluster). could even be seen visually during its thrust phase. All the other stations also received the signal flawlessly and the separation of ATV finally took place over New Svalbard Zealand. Half an orbit later, the rocket was again tra c ked by Santa Maria. CNES/CSG Ariane network Again, the new station and its team wo rked perfectly. The mission ended Maspalomas Villafranca In order to cover the entire length of an successfully after the deorbit burn, again Ariane’s trajectory when launched from Kourou, CNES/CSG uses a network of monitored over New Zealand. downrange stations whose antennas relay signals to CSG as the launch progresses. Outlook The Santa Maria station is being The network consists of the following stations: Galliot (Kourou), Natal (Brazil) upgraded with X-band (8 GHz band) Ascension Island (UK), Libreville (Gabon) and receive capability to allow reception of Malindi (Kenya), and now Santa Maria in the Earth observation satellite payload data. Azores. For this, a dichroic sub-reflector will be put in front of the S-band feed, only reflecting the X-band signals into the X-band feed located on the main reflector. The station will support the MARISS and CLEANSEANET initiatives when it is not required for Perth Kiruna Natal, Brazil launcher tracking. e

42 esa bulletin 135 - august 2008 www.esa.int www.esa.int esa bulletin 135 - august 2008 43 Science Santa Maria Station

42 esa bulletin 135 - august 2008 www.esa.int www.esa.int esa bulletin 135 - august 2008 43 Vega

The former ELA-1 Ariane-1 launch pad at Kourou has Stefano Bianchi, Renato Lafranconi & been transformed for Vega. The Mobile Gantry is in place and the site almost complete. In the background, an Michel Bonnet Ariane-5 is seen being moved to its launch site ELA-3 Vega Programme, Directorate of Launchers, ESRIN, Frascati, Italy

key element of the European launcher strategy for access to space, the Vega A small launcher is being preparing for its maiden flight in November 2009.

The development of Vega passed major milestones in 2007 and 2008, providing essential results in terms of test data and design consolidation. These will lead to the Qualification Flight from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana at the end of 2009. This will be an important step in the implementation of the European strategy in the launcher sector and the guarantee of access to space for Europe, as endorsed by the ESA Ministerial Council in 2003. The ex p l o i t ation of this new ESA developed launcher will widen the range of launch services offered by launchers developed and produced by European industry and will improve launch flexibility by providing a more adapted response for a wide range of European institutional space missions, as well as an optimised family of launchers to serve commercial market needs.

esa bulletin 135 - august 2008 45 Vega

key element of the European launcher strategy for access to space, the Vega A small launcher is being preparing for its maiden flight in November 2009.

esa bulletin 135 - august 2008 45 Launchers Vega

The Vega and VERTA Programmes to enlarge the qualification domain, The Vega launch system, curre n t ly sustaining its reliability, demonstrating developed by ESA, has an essential role its flexibility through various missions within the family of launchers that will and enhancing its affo rd ability fo r be operated by Arianespace at the future customers. European Spaceport in French Guiana The Vega and VERTA programmes (Centre Spatial Guyanais, CSG). It will a re funded by the fo l l ow i n g complement the European Ariane and p a r t i c i p ating states: Belgium, Fra n c e, the Russian Soyuz: Ariane is optimised I t a ly, The Netherl a n d s, Switze rl a n d , for larger spacecraft and missions to Spain and Sweden. Geostationary Transfer Orbit (GTO) as The programme is managed by an well as Earth gravity escape missions, Integrated Project Team composed of while Soyuz is suitable for medium staff from ESA, the Italian space agency satellites in GTO and heavy satellites in ASI and the French space ag e n c y Low Earth Orbit (LEO). CNES, based at ESRIN in Frascati, Vega is a four-stage launch vehicle Italy, for the launch vehicle and ground designed to cover a wide range of small segment, and at CNES-DLA in Evry, s atellite missions in LEO. The main France, for the P80 demonstrator. system re q u i re m e n t s, in terms of The industrial organisation is based payload mass and dimensions as well as Participation in the Vega and VERTA programmes on a prime contractor for each project: mission ra n g e, we re driven by the ELV (I) for the launch vehicle, AVIO (I) market projection showing a broad need with delegation to Europropulsion (I/F) of different missions as follows: In order to prepare the exploitation services for five ESA missions, wa s for the P80 demonstrator, and Vitrociset –Re f e rence: 1500 kg in polar circ u l a r p h a s e, the Vega Re s e a rch and decided by the participating states at the (I) for the ground segment. 700 km orbit, Technology Accompaniment (VERTA) ESA Ministerial Council in December – Mission range: inclination 5° to sun- p rog ra m m e, including the launch 2005. This programme has the objective The Vega Launcher s y n c h ronous orbit, LEO and small- The Vega launcher is a single-body to-medium payload mass ra n g e, fro m vehicle composed of three solid-rocket m i c ro and mini-satellites up to ESA’s family of launchers: Vega, Soyuz, Ariane-5 and Ariane-5 ECA motor (SRM) stages (P80, Zefiro-23 and 2.5-tonne sat e l l i t e s. Z e f i ro-9), a liquid-propulsion upper In 2010–15, the addressable market stage (Attitude Vernier Upper Module, consists of five to seven satellites a year AVUM) and a fairing. At lift-off, the with a mass greater than 250 kg and launcher is 30.2 m high and weighs c o m p at i ble with the Vega re f e re n c e 139 tonnes. capability. This fully consolidates the To minimise risks and costs, the planned launch rate of two launches per development has been based on a mix of year as a minimum. we l l - p roven technolog i e s, benefiting The Vega programme is composed of f rom synergy with Ariane-5 three ESA optional programmes (the development and with new technologies Small Launcher programme, the P80 aimed at reaching low recurring cost d e m o n s t rator prog ramme and an objectives. The choice of solid-rocket additional programme slice, decided at motors was driven mainly by the end of 2007) organised into three demonstrated high reliability on Ariane p rojects: the launch ve h i c l e, the P80 programmes and by low development (first stage solid-rocket motor) and the and recurrent costs. ground segment. The three solid-propellant stag e s The Vega launch system includes also perform the main ascent phase while the the dedicated launcher infrastructure at fourth stage compensates for the solid- CSG and the worldwide ground station p ropulsion perfo r mance scat t e r i n g , network necessary to launch a payload circularises the orbit and executes the and to place it into the required orbit, de-orbiting manoeuvres. respecting the specified environment for The diameter of the first stage has the payload, the safety and operational been set to 3 m in order to exploit fully Vega launcher configuration constraints. the synergies with alre a dy ex i s t i n g and dimensions Ariane facilities for casting and

46 esa bulletin 135 - august 2008 www.esa.int www.esa.int esa bulletin 135 - august 2008 47 Launchers Vega

and execution means, data pro c e s s i n g The fo rmer Ariane-1 plat fo r m P80 Z23 Z9 and data commu n i c ation needed by ( bu n ker) is being refurbished and the flight control function (during upgraded for Vega. The launch pad Overall length (mm) 10 791 7585 3953 p r e-launch and flight mission i t s e l f is equipped with seve ral pipe Outer diameter (mm) 3003 1904 1907 p h a s e s ) ; n e t wo rks which fulfil the diff e re n t – the electrical safeguard subsystem, functions required, e.g. pressurisation, Propellant mass (kg) 87 733 23 823 10 570 consisting of all the equipment fo r cooling, ve n t i l ation, flushing and Inert mass (kg) 7030 1951 915 p ower generation, reception, pro - propellants loading. cessing and transmission to gro u n d The Upper Composite assembly and Burn time (s) 110 77 118 needed by the safety functions; checks will be done inside the payload – the telemetry subsystem, including all integration facilities at CSG (Ensemble Vacuum specific impulse (s) 280 288 296 the means to acquire and process the de Pré p a rat ion des Charges Utiles, Nozzle expansion ratio 16 27 72.5 telemetry monitoring functions, and EPCU). t ransmit to the gro u n d . The Vega Control Bench facilities will SRM nominal characteristics and performances In order to reduce as much as possible be located in the Centre De Lancement the development and recurring costs, the (Launch Centre) No. 3 (next to that for Vega avionics system is based on the use Ariane-5). Characteristics and performances of existing hardware and/or components AVUM stage dry mass (kg) 615 f rom Ariane and other ESA pro - Vega Development Status grammes. As an example, the Vega on- Launch vehicle Propellant loading (kg) 577 b o a rd computer (OBC) is based on System activities in 2007 were devoted Pressuring (GHe) gas loading (kg) 4.1 existing blocks and components from to the consolidation of the launch ESA satellite programmes. system design in the frame of the Vega Main engine thrust (N) 2450 System Critical Design Review activi- The P80 firing tests at the the Booster Test Stand at the Centre Spatial Guyanais in December 2007 The Ground Segment ties, allowing the start the qualification LPS total impulse (kN s) 1634 As with Ariane-4, the Vega launcher is loop activities in December. Restart capability 5 assembled and tested on its launch pad. In parallel, the development activities i n t e g rat ion. The P80 is the larg e s t Avionics functions are distribu t e d The launcher preparation takes place at equipment and subsystem levels have AVUM nominal characteristics and performances monolithic solid-rocket motor with a among hardwa re items and onboard inside a Mobile Gantry, housing all the allowed the completion of most of the filament winding CFRP motor case ever s o f t wa re. They are split into thre e Ground Support Equipment needed to critical design reviews. For some of the developed in the world. subsystems: assemble and check the launcher, which elements, like the fairing, the inter-stage The Vega Upper Composite electro- A few months later, in March 2008, at The fourth stage (AVUM) includes a – the guidance, nav i g ation and contro l is moved back a few hours before the 0/1, the ignition and separation pyro- m agnetic compatibility tests we r e the Italian Air Force Salto di Quirra b i p ropellant (NTO/UDMH) liquid- subsystem, grouping all acquisition launch. chains, the AVUM structure, the On- completed successfully in Colleferro (I) Range (Sardinia), the Zefiro-23 solid- propulsion system (LPS) that provides Board Computer and the safety units, during summer 2007, and in INTA (E) rocket motor – the second stage – also the necessary velocity changes fo r Qualification Reviews have already been for the final part of the conducted and completed its functional qualificat i o n reaching the final launcher orbit, and a performed. radiated susceptibility tests at the end of with a successful second test-firing. m o n o p ropellant (hyd razine) Roll and Testing activities have been ve r y 2007/early 2008. The qualification firing test of the Attitude Control System (fulfilling the intense too. The Upper Composite The qualification of the avionics has Zefiro-9 solid-rocket motor took place main functions of roll control during Mechanical model (UCMEC) under- made significant steps ahead with the set in March 2007, but failed with the flight, attitude control during coasting went vibration and acoustic testing at up of the ‘hardware in the loop’ facility, ejection of the nozzle after 35 seconds of phases, attitude recovery during second- the ESTEC Test Centre from summer now nearly finished, and the completion operating time. An inquiry board was s t age separation, payload pointing 2006 until the beginning of October. of the first validation campaigns of the put in place, and pointed some manoeuvre and orbit control for the The third and fourth stage separation s a f e g u a rd subsystem (SAS) and weaknesses in the design of the nozzle collision avoidance manoeuvre). and fairing horizontal separation system communication subsystem. and in manufacturing quality on some The Upper Composite, composed by (HSS) tests have been perfo r med, in The P80 solid-rocket motor – the first of its components. Intense work was the payload adapter, the payload and EADS-CASA facilities in Spain, in s t age – successfully completed its made by Avio teams in order to recover the fairing is mated on the top of the December 2006 and February 2007 q u a l i f i c ation firing test in December the situation, with a complete material fourth stage. re s p e c t ive ly. During November 2007, 2007, one year after the test-firing of the characterisation campaign (in particular In a single launch configuration, Vega the chara c t e r i s ation of the launch d evelopment model, confirming the of the carbon-phenolic (C-Ph) materials provides a minimum volume allocated vehicle bending modes and structural predicted performances and behaviour. used in the insulators of the carbon- to the payload consisting of a damping was carried out at IABG (D) Due to its size, the P80 firing tests are carbon nozzle throat, operating at up to Characterisation of launch cylindrical volume of 2.35 m diameter vehicle bending modes and with the integration of all the launch performed at the Booster Test Stand 2000°C), redesign of the nozzle, and and 3.5 m height plus a frustum volume structural damping at IABG vehicle subassemblies except the first (Bâtiment d’Essais des Accélérateurs à i m p rovement in the manu f a c t u r i n g of 2.8 m height. in Germany (ELV) stage (P80 plus inter-stage 0/1). Poudre, BEAP) at CSG. process and then quality of the C-Ph

48 esa bulletin 135 - august 2008 www.esa.int www.esa.int esa bulletin 135 - august 2008 49 Launchers Vega

Ground Segment p o r t ation to Ko u rou , storag e, inte- f r ame due to Earth’s angular The Vega ground segment has entered in gration on the launch table and the final momentum (or ‘Lense-Thirring effect’) its final phase with the completion of preparation of the launch vehicle as for and a high precision test of E a r t h ' s the detailed design of the va r i o u s flight, which includes the pro p e l l a n t gravitomagnetic field. Gravitomagnetic subsystems (mechanical, fluid and loading and the va l i d ation of t h e field and inertial frame drag are control centre). countdown phase. p r edictions of E i n s t e i n’s theory of At CSG, the civil wo rks of A dedicated Integrated Operat i o n s General Relativity. refurbishment of the bu n ker and Team has been set up to manage this The secondary payloads of t h e integration of the Mobile Gantry main Combined Test Campaign, taking maiden flight are educational micro - structure have been completed as well as advantage of the cooperation between satellites. the installation of equipments fo r the different players and securing at the h e ating, ve n t i l ation and air condi- same time the continuity of technical From Development to Exploitation tioning. The launch table has been competences through the diff e re n t For a smooth transition betwe e n integrated in its position, and will be phases of realisation and validation of d e velopment and ex p l o i t ation, the soon completed with the upper and p roducts up to the integration and VERTA programme will undertake five l owe r pallets. The umbilical mast is launch campaigns. Specialists fro m fl exi bility demonstration fl i g h t s, being erected in the launch area, in industrial contractors, support services p r i m a r i l y for ESA user missions. parallel with the integration of piping and the future operator Arianespace are Different ESA user mission candidates Mobile Gantry integration activities in CSG (Vitrociset) for fluid installation. involved under the coordination of the a r e alre a dy identified for these five Fluid panels factory acceptance has Vega Integrated Project Team. launches: been completed in Europe and they will After completion of the combined – ADM-Aeolus Earth observat i o n insulators. Most of these improvements the P80 and Zefiro tests, simu l at i n g be shipped to Kourou and connected to tests and Ground Qualification Review, mission, weighing around 1400 kg, we re applied on the nozzle of the worst-case manoeuvre s, and the the networks on the launch pad. the Flight Readiness Review will enable to be placed in a sun-synchronous Zefiro-23 qualification model and the performance was satisfactory. The Vega Control Centre (CCV), fully the start of the Qualification Flight orbit at about 400 km altitude; nozzle expertise after its successful firing For the liquid-propulsion subsystem – d eve loped and tested at the gro u n d campaign that will complete the – SWARM Earth observation mission, test confirmed the soundness of t h e the fo u r t h - s t age main engine – derive d segment prime contractor premises with preparation for the maiden flight. The comprising a constellation of three modifications. f rom the Ukrainian RD-869 engine a first release of software, has been Launch Readiness Review will give the s atellites in near-polar orbits, Taking adva n t age of the schedule ( Yu z h n oye) has alre a dy successfully shipped to the launch site. This release green light for the maiden flight, and between 450 and 550 km altitude; shift because of the redesign of the u n d e rgone seve ral test campaigns with will be used to start the ground segment this will be fo l l owed by a detailed – LISA Pathfinder science mission, Zefiro-9 nozzle, the project decided to t wo qualification models. The firing test integrated tests phase. Further releases exploitation of the flight results and by weighing about 1900 kg, with an increase the Zefiro-9 performance with at subsystems level (complete liquid are foreseen to cover late changes. the Flight Qualification Review. o p e rational orbit around the first an overloading of propellant (by 560 p ropulsion subsystem in the fl i g h t The next important milestone for the Earth-Sun Lagrange point (L1) after kg), allowing and improvement in c o n f i g u ration) is under pre p a ration at Vega ground segment is the Te s t The Qualification Flight a transfer trajectory from a low launcher payload cap ability of m o re the P2 test stand in Lampoldshausen (D) Readiness Review for the integrated test The mission for the Qualification Flight Earth parking orbit; than 60 kg. Following a review of the and the test campaign will start in phase under the responsibility of the has been defined to take into account – Proba-3, a formation-flying cluster impact at motor and system levels, the summer 2008. This will be the final step industrial prime contractor and closely d i ff e rent targets: mitigation of r i s k s of two mini-satellites, with a highly i m p l e m e n t ati on of this modificat i o n to demonstrate the liquid-pro p u l s i o n followed by ESA/IPT with a dedicated i n h e rent to the first flight, re p re s e n - elliptical final orbit; was endorsed through the System system suitability for the Qualificat i o n team on site. The closure of this test t at ive ness of the mission within the – ESA IXV demonstrator for re-entry Critical Design Review. Flight. The manufac-turing, assembly phase will allow pronouncing the flight qualification domain, compliance ap p l i c at i o n s, weighing around Because of these significant changes and integration of the units for the technical qualification of the Ve g a with gro u n d / flight safety and pro - 1850 kg, to be de-orbited by the Vega in the third-stage motor configuration Q u a l i f i c ation Flight have alre a dy started, ground segment. grammatic constraints. upper stage before starting its re- (now named Zefiro-9A), two firing tests a c c o rding to their qualification stat u s. In particular, due to the larg e r entry phase at 120 km altitude. a re still needed to demonstrate the The focus in 2008 on the launch Launch System uncertainties in a first flight, specific For the first VERTA flight, scheduled q u a l i f i c ati on. They are scheduled in vehicle side will be the closure of the Activities at launch system level are now constraints are introduced to limit the six months after the maiden flight, ESA October 2008 and February 2009. major actions resulting from the focused at the pre p a rat ion of t h e risks safetywise. Hence the pay l o a d will issue an international Announce- Not only do solid-rocket motor firing development activities and reviews, the Combined Test Campaign. This will be mass has been reduced for this flight. ment of Opportunity (AO). The tests verify the correct overall behaviour completion of all the qualificat i o n the major step of the launch system The main passenger of the maiden response to the AO will be assessed by of the Vega motors and demonstrate rev i ews at equipment and subsystem development, being the first time that flight is the LARES ex p e r i m e n t ESA, with the participation of that the ballistic performances comply levels and the acceptance of the flight the launcher (a representative mock-up) developed by ASI. This is a satellite Arianespace, and building upon such an with the system requirements, but they u n i t s, as well as of course the and the ground segment will meet l a s e r- ranging experiment, completely assessment, in a second step, a Call(s) also contribute to the Thrust Vector preparation of the ground qualification together. passive with no sensors or on-board for Proposals will be published, and the Control (TVC) subsystems qualification review of the launch system, scheduled These tests will allow the validation of electronics. The main scientific objective payload(s) for the first VERTA flight as well. Large amplitude movements of to start in the first quarter of 2009, and all pro c e s s e s, from the delivery of o f the LARES mission is the AVUM and fairing at ESTEC for upper-composite mechanical tests will be selected. e the TVC system were executed during the preparation for the maiden flight. subassemblies in Europe, their trans- measurement of the dragging of inertial (ELV)

50 esa bulletin 135 - august 2008 www.esa.int www.esa.int esa bulletin 135 - august 2008 51 Launchers Vega

50 esa bulletin 135 - august 2008 www.esa.int www.esa.int esa bulletin 135 - august 2008 51 Programmes In Progress

2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 PROJECT JFMAMJJASONDJFMAMJJASONDJFMAMJJASONDJFMAMJJASONDJFMAMJ JASONDJ FMAMJ JASONDJ FMAMJ JASOND J FMAMJ JASONDJ FMAMJ JASOND COMMENTS HUBBLE LAUNCHED APRIL1990

ULYSSES LAUNCHED OCTOBER 1990 LAUNCHED DECEMBER 1995 SOHO OPS EXTENDED UNTIL 31 DECEMBER 2009 LAUNCHED DECEMBER 1999 XMM-NEWTON OPS EXTENDED UNTIL 31 DECEMBER 2012 Programmes CLUSTER RE-LAUNCHED MID-2000 INTEGRAL LAUNCHED OCTOBER 2002

MARS EXPRESS LAUNCHED JUNE 2003

SMART-1 LAUNCHED SEPTEMBER 2003

DOUBLE STAR TC-1 LAUNCHED DECEMBER 2003 TC-2 LAUNCHED JULY 2004 ROSETTA LAUNCHED MARCH 2004

VENUS EXPRESS LAUNCHED NOVEMBER 2005

PROGRAMME HERSCHEL/PLANCK LAUNCH JANUARY 2009 in Progress LISA PATHFINDER LAUNCH MID-2010

SCIENCE & ROBOTIC EXPLORATION MICROSCOPE LAUNCH END 2010

GAIA LAUNCH DECEMBER 2011

JWST LAUNCH JUNE 2013

EXOMARS LAUNCH MID-2013

Status end-July 2008 BEPICOLOMBO LAUNCH AUGUST 2014 SOLAR ORBITER LAUNCH MAY 2017

LISA LAUNCH END 2017

METEOSAT-5/6/7 M5 LAUNCHED 1991, M6 1993, M7 1997 ERS-2 LAUNCHED APRIL 1995 OPS EXTENDED TO MID-2011 ENVISAT LAUNCHED MARCH 2002 POSSIBLE EXTENSION BEYOND 2010 MSG-2 MSG MSG-3 LAUNCH 2011, MSG-4 LAUNCH 2013 METOP METOP-A LAUNCH OCTOBER 2006, METOP-B 2011, METOP-C 2015 CRYOSAT LAUNCH FAILURE OCTOBER 2005 CRYOSAT-2 LAUNCH NOVEMBER 2009 GOCE LAUNCH SEPTEMBER 2008 SMOS LAUNCH APRIL–JULY 2009 PROGRAMME ADM-AEOLUS LAUNCH OCTOBER 2010 EARTH OBSERVATION EARTH SWARM LAUNCH 2010 EARTHCARE LAUNCH MID-2013 SENTINEL-1 LAUNCH NOVEMBER 2011

SENTINEL-2 LAUNCH OCTOBER 2012

SENTINEL-3 LAUNCH NOVEMBER 2012

ARTEMIS LAUNCHED JULY 2001 ALPHABUS

ALPHASAT LAUNCH JUNE 2012

SMALL GEO SAT. LAUNCH END 2011/EARLY 2012 COMMS./NAV. PROGRAMME GNSS-1/EGNOS

GIOVE-A GIOVE-B OPERATIONS START 2008 GALILEO GIOVE-A LAUNCHED DECEMBER 2005 GIOVE-B LAUNCHED APRIL 2008, IOV 2009/2010 PROBA-1 LAUNCHED OCTOBER 2001

PROG. PROBA-2 LAUNCH APRIL–MAY 2009 TECHNOL.

COLUMBUS LAUNCHED FEBRUARY 2008

ATV FIRST LAUNCH MARCH 2008 ATV-2 PLANNED MID-2010 NODE-2 & -3 & CUPOLA LAUNCHES OCTOBER 2007 & APRIL 2010 CUPOLA WITH NODE-3 APRIL 2010 ERA LAUNCH NOT BEFORE END-2009

MELFI 1 EDR/EUTEF/SOLAR MELFI 2 ISS BARTER & UTIL. PREP. EDR/EUTEF/SOLAR WITH COLUMBUS

FOTON-M2 TEXUS-42 MAXUS-7/TEXUS-43 TEXUS-44/45 MASER-11 MAXUS-8 MARES PFS EML-1 TEXUS 44/45: FEBRUARY 2008 TEXUS 46: MAY EMIR/ELIPS MASER-10 EMCS/ TEXUS PROGRAMME MAXUS-6 PEMS FOTON-M3 PCDF -46 2009 MAXUS 8: NOV. 2009 MASER 11: MAY 2008 MSL

HUMAN SPACEFLIGHT MFC BIOLAB, FSL, EPM with COLUMBUS

ASTRONAUT FLT. DE WINNE, MAY-NOVEMBER 2009. FUGLESANG JULY-AUGUST 2009 AURORA CORE

ARIANE-5 OPERATIONAL

VEGA FIRST LAUNCH NOVEMBER 2009 PROG.

LAUNCHER SOYUZ AT CSG FIRST LAUNCH MID-2009

DEFINITION PHASE MAIN DEVELOPMENT PHASE STORAGE

LAUNCH/READY FOR LAUNCH OPERATIONS ADDITIONAL LIFE POSSIBLE

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MARS EXPRESS LAUNCHED JUNE 2003

SMART-1 LAUNCHED SEPTEMBER 2003

DOUBLE STAR TC-1 LAUNCHED DECEMBER 2003 TC-2 LAUNCHED JULY 2004 ROSETTA LAUNCHED MARCH 2004

VENUS EXPRESS LAUNCHED NOVEMBER 2005

PROGRAMME HERSCHEL/PLANCK LAUNCH JANUARY 2009 in Progress LISA PATHFINDER LAUNCH MID-2010

SCIENCE & ROBOTIC EXPLORATION SCIENCE & ROBOTIC MICROSCOPE LAUNCH END 2010

GAIA LAUNCH DECEMBER 2011

JWST LAUNCH JUNE 2013

EXOMARS LAUNCH MID-2013

Status end-July 2008 BEPICOLOMBO LAUNCH AUGUST 2014 SOLAR ORBITER LAUNCH MAY 2017

LISA LAUNCH END 2017

SENTINEL-2 LAUNCH OCTOBER 2012

SENTINEL-3 LAUNCH NOVEMBER 2012

ARTEMIS LAUNCHED JULY 2001 ALPHABUS

ALPHASAT LAUNCH JUNE 2012

SMALL GEO SAT. LAUNCH END 2011/EARLY 2012 COMMS./NAV. PROGRAMME GNSS-1/EGNOS

GIOVE-A GIOVE-B OPERATIONS START 2008 GALILEO GIOVE-A LAUNCHED DECEMBER 2005 GIOVE-B LAUNCHED APRIL 2008, IOV 2009/2010 PROBA-1 LAUNCHED OCTOBER 2001

PROG. PROBA-2 LAUNCH APRIL–MAY 2009 TECHNOL.

COLUMBUS LAUNCHED FEBRUARY 2008

ATV FIRST LAUNCH MARCH 2008 ATV-2 PLANNED MID-2010 NODE-2 & -3 & CUPOLA LAUNCHES OCTOBER 2007 & APRIL 2010 CUPOLA WITH NODE-3 APRIL 2010 ERA LAUNCH NOT BEFORE END-2009

MELFI 1 EDR/EUTEF/SOLAR MELFI 2 ISS BARTER & UTIL. PREP. EDR/EUTEF/SOLAR WITH COLUMBUS

HUMAN SPACEFLIGHT MFC BIOLAB, FSL, EPM with COLUMBUS

ASTRONAUT FLT. DE WINNE, MAY-NOVEMBER 2009. FUGLESANG JULY-AUGUST 2009 AURORA CORE

ARIANE-5 OPERATIONAL

VEGA FIRST LAUNCH NOVEMBER 2009 PROG.

LAUNCHER SOYUZ AT CSG FIRST LAUNCH MID-2009

DEFINITION PHASE MAIN DEVELOPMENT PHASE STORAGE

LAUNCH/READY FOR LAUNCH OPERATIONS ADDITIONAL LIFE POSSIBLE

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25 June by US-based veteran comet-hunter However, the journey around Saturn will and densest part of the diffuse gas in the The period August–September is critical column density on a timescale of three days. Ulysses and amateur astronomer Rob Matson. continue for at least another two years cosmic web. since it was at this time last year that contact Such an increase is not predicted by models, following the recent approval by NASA of the with Double Star was lost. The reason was and was also occasionally observed by Mars Roughly 85% of the SOHO discoveries, Cassini Equinox Mission. This mission will About 330 scientists participated in the ‘The most likely due to very high spacecraft Global Surveyor over the Hellas basin during Since the failure of the X-band EPC/TWTA in including this one, are fragments from a address discoveries and new questions X-ray Universe 2008’ symposium in temperatures and minimal solar array power. previous martian years at the same season; January, numerous attempts to re-establish once-great comet that split apart in a death raised by Cassini-Huygens and will continue Granada (E), on 27–30 May 2008 and Because of the low power, instrument however, its origin is not yet understood. an X-band downlink have been made without plunge around the Sun, probably many exploring two of its most intriguing targets: opened by ESA’s Director of Science and operations will be suspended from 15 July to success. Despite this, an S-band science centuries ago. The fragments are known as Titan (26 targeted flybys planned) and Robotic Exploration, Prof. David Southwood. 15 September. If the situation improves The first article to be fully based on data mission is still ongoing at the time of writing. the Kreutz group and now pass within Enceladus (6 flybys planned). A smooth and professional organisation of during that time, the instruments (FGM and from three Mars Express experiments was At the end of May, the S-band downlink had 1.5 million kilometres of the Sun’s surface the conference contributed significantly to PEACE) will still be able to operate via direct accepted for publication in June 2008. This deteriorated because of the increasing when they return from deep space. Of the overall success of the symposium and to command from the Chinese Operations study suggests that the crustal magnetic distance between the spacecraft and Earth to course, SOHO itself does not make the the good impression made on all Centre. fields, when they happen to be organised in the point that playback of recorded data detections; that task falls to an open group of XMM-Newton participants. The conference was ‘cusp-like’ structures, can trigger the aurorae could no longer be supported and only highly skilled volunteers who scan the data exceptionally interesting from the scientific observed. spacecraft data received in real-time during a as soon as it is downloaded to Earth (usually All the stars, galaxies and gases observable viewpoint reflecting the mature state of the Mars Express tracking pass are now able to be acquired. within 15 minutes after it is taken). in the Universe account for less than a half of scientific return from XMM-Newton. Enthusiasts from all over the world look at all the atoms (baryons) the Universe is made Rosetta Without the heating effect of the X-band each individual image for a tiny moving of. Scientists have predicted that the The PFS instrument has studied seasonal, TWTA, the temperature in a portion of the speck that could be a comet. When someone ‘missing’ matter exists in the form of low- Cluster diurnal, and spatial variations of methane in hydrazine pipe-work in the lower spacecraft believes they have found one, they submit density gas that fills vast spaces between the Martian atmosphere. The so-called The Rosetta spacecraft has spent the last section continues to decrease. Since the their results to the SOHO team where the galaxies forming a web-like structure. The methane mixing ratio shows a slow decrease three months in passive cruise model, while pipe-work temperature drops when the findings are checked before submitting them ‘missing’ matter would have a high From 25 April to 30 May, a ‘tilting campaign’ from northern spring to southern summer. the ground segment finalised preparations S-band transmitter is on, tracking passes of to the Minor Planet Center, where the comet temperature and so it would primarily emit was performed, in which the spin axis of The change is extremely small, but can still for the active payload checkout (PC8) and only a few hours’ duration are now is catalogued and has its orbit calculated. low-energy X-rays. But its very low density Spacecraft 3 was tilted by 45 degrees relative be clearly observed. interference campaign in July 2008, and the scheduled. In addition, fuel is being moved made observation extremely difficult. XMM- to the other spacecraft to allow subsequent flyby of asteroid (2867) Steins, every two hours through the short length of Newton’s observations of a pair of galaxy electromagnetic waves and electric fields to Data from OMEGA and PFS have been used for which the navigation started on 4 August cold pipe-work where freezing is likely to Cassini-Huygens clusters, Abell 222 and Abell 223, situated at be measured in three dimensions. to study the evolution of the water vapour 2008. occur by simultaneously firing two opposing a distance of 2300 million light-years from Throughout the campaign, platform and concentration over the Hellas basin as a thrusters. As a result of these and other Earth, detected a bridge of hot gas payload temperatures remained within the function of the seasonal cycle. The data show Asteroid (2867) Steins was discovered by operational measures, the projected mission The nominal four-year mission of Cassini- connecting the two clusters. The hot gas in forecast range. an abrupt enhancement of the water vapour N.S. Chernykh on 4 November 1969 at the end date of 1 July 2008 was reached without Huygens came to an end on 30 June 2008. this bridge or filament is probably the hottest the hydrazine freezing. Spacecraft operations The periodic magnetic activity, or substorms, and science data acquisition will continue at Jupiter and Earth was compared using using the same strategy until freezing occurs. Galileo and Cluster data respectively, by Kronberg et al. in the Journal of Geophysical An international workshop focusing on the Research. The paper highlighted striking contributions of Ulysses to the network of similarities, suggesting that the same cyclic space missions that are collectively exploring mechanism of loading and unloading affects the Sun and heliosphere as an integrated both magnetospheres. A special issue of the system was held on the island of Kefalonia, Journal of Geophysical Research has been Greece, on 6–9 May, followed by a press published containing 32 papers on Cluster conference highlighting the legacy of Ulysses and Double Star’s most recent results. in Paris on 16 June. Double Star SOHO SOHO’s record-breaking comet discovery was made Observations made by a unique constellation SOHO has just discovered its 1500th comet, on 25 June 2008. Images of Double Star TC-2 (at 10 Earth radii), making it more successful than any other of this small faint object Cluster (at 14–16 Earth radii), GOES-10 and comet discoverer throughout history. Not were captured by the Large the LANL spacecraft (near 6.6 Earth radii) The High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) on board ESA’s Mars Express spacecraft has returned images of Echus Chasma, one of the Angle and Spectrometric largest water source regions on the Red Planet. Echus Chasma is the source region of Kasei Valles that extends 3000 km to the north. bad for a spacecraft that was designed as a Coronograph (LASCO), one have allowed Sergeev et al to study the solar physics mission! The small faint details of three reconnection events located This image was taken on 25 September 2005, centred on 1° North and 278° East, with a resolution of about 17 m/pixel. The dark of SOHO’s 12 instruments material shows a network of light-coloured, incised valleys that look similar to drainage networks known on Earth. It is still debated Kreutz-group comet was discovered on on board (ESA/NASA) unusually close to Earth (10–12 Earth radii). whether the valleys originate from precipitation, groundwater springs or liquid or magma flows on the surface (ESA/ DLR/FU Berlin)

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Crimean Observatory, Nauchnyj, Ukraine. It surprisingly variable concentration of sulphur unprecedented long (and uninterrupted) were carried out on time, leading to preparation for the spacecraft CDR to be held was provisionally designated as 1969VC and dioxide in the upper atmosphere. This has periods of up to 150 days. Herschel/Planck readiness of both satellites for launch just in the autumn. All subsystems have already later numbered, and named after the led to a renewed discussion on the case of before the end of the year. had their own subsystem CDRs and many astronomer K.A. Steins. It is an asteroid of present volcanism on Venus. A characteristic of the COROT mission is that equipment suppliers have delivered electrical the Main Belt with an eccentricity of 0.145 since the observing periods are so long, by Both spacecraft are in the final stages of the units and some their Flight Models. The and a perihelion distance of 2.019 AU. The clouds on Venus, which exist in a layer the time the data has been acquired by the flight acceptance testing and have completed LISA Pathfinder science module FM structure that was (2867) Steins is believed to be an E-type extending between 45 and 70 km above the co-investigators, the Sun is in the part of the a set of major milestones. damaged during the static test has been asteroid, which is characteristic of iron-poor surface, move rapidly. These clouds are sky which the spacecraft has just observed, The LISA Pathfinder development is in repaired and will be used in the summer or iron-free silicates. It has an irregular mainly composed of micrometre-sized making the follow-up observations from the The main highlight of the Herschel flight progress despite a delay in the schedule. The together with the propulsion module shape with an average diameter of about droplets of sulphuric acid and other aerosols, ground (necessary to confirm any planet model test campaign was the completion of main engineering activities are related to structure for a combined acoustic and 4.6 km and an albedo of 0.45 ± 0.10 derived the origin of which is unknown. candidates) impossible during a further six the mechanical test campaign (sine vibration finalising the spacecraft design, in separation test. A new FM structure has been from polarimetric data. Its rotational period months. This causes a serious bottleneck in test and the acoustic noise testing). The was recently determined also from The Venus Monitoring Camera (VMC) on the follow-up process. Therefore, there is a satellite is now undergoing the final observations obtained with the OSIRIS board Venus Express has been observing the significant delay in the presentation of functional and performance verification Planck fine-balancing test at ESTEC inside the Large Space Simulation facility camera system on board Rosetta. From the top of the cloud layer in visible, near-infrared scientific results. It is expected that this will before the thermal vacuum and thermal light curve obtained a rotational period of and ultraviolet wavelengths. Ultraviolet be alleviated in about six months when the balance test later this year. All the functional 6.052 ± 0.007 hrs was derived. observations have shown a wealth of new first data will become public. testing that needed to be completed before details including a variety of markings and after the mechanical test campaign have The flyby of this asteroid has been scheduled created by variable concentrations of Nevertheless, seven extrasolar planets have also been carried out, including the system from 4 August to 5 October 2008 with different aerosols located at the top of the been confirmed, and about 30 more high- validation test where the satellite is operated closest approach on 5 September 2008, cloud layer. The shape of the clouds on priority candidates are currently being by the mission control centre in ESOC. A first 18:37 UTC, when the asteroid is at a Venus changes dramatically from the equator followed up. About 10 papers in refereed electromagnetic compatibility test has been heliocentric distance of 2.14 AU and a to the pole. At low latitudes, the cloud shape journals are published or submitted. All of carried out, measuring the radiated emission geocentric distance of 2.41 AU. The targeted is spotty and fragmented, a consequence of a these potential planets are similar to Jupiter of the operational satellite in the large minimum flyby distance is 800 km and the vigorous convective movement powered by in our Solar System. A re-evaluation of all anechoic chamber in ESTEC, showing the relative flyby velocity is 8.62 km/s. A flyby the radiation of the sun heating the hitherto observed fields is under way, as the expected very low emission level of the strategy was selected that will allow atmosphere itself. software for planetary detection is satellite, a key input to the demonstration continuous observation of the asteroid continuously being refined, in order to search that the satellite will not disturb the very before, during and after closest approach. for smaller planets. sensitive detectors of the scientific Rosetta will pass the asteroid on the COROT instruments in orbit. sunward side approaching from low phase The first asteroseismological signatures, at a angle, going through phase angle zero, and level similar to those previously only The Planck flight model satellite is entering high phase angles after closest COROT has now been in orbit for more than detected in the Sun, have been detected in a undergoing its last big environmental test approach. The planning activities for the one and a half years. During this time, more solar-type star. The results have been before flight, the thermal balance and thermal asteroid flyby phase have been completed than 30 000 stars have been observed during submitted to scientific journals. vacuum test in the test chamber at CSL in and detailed scheduling is now proceeding. Liege (B). During the two-month long test, By the end of June 2008, Rosetta was the performance of the scientific instruments 285 million km (1.9 AU) away from the Sun under orbit like cryogenic conditions will be and 211 million km (1.41 AU) from Earth. verified. This includes cooldown of the An ultraviolet VMC image of Venus from system with the three cooler stages of Planck 30 000 km. The south pole is at the with the lowest temperature of 0.1K being Venus Express bottom, while equator is at the top. The reached at the HFI bolometers. The test bright lace visible on top of the darker started with the satellite in the chamber in cloud deck is made of freshly formed droplets of sulphuric acid. At mid mid June to functionally test the satellite. The airglow of the hydroxyl molecule has latitudes, the convective clouds make way One of these tests was the science been detected in the upper atmosphere of for more streaks, indicating that the flow operations validation test with the satellite Venus for the first time. This will improve the is basically laminar in this part of the being operated by the control centre in understanding of the chemical processes and atmosphere. At high latitudes, the cloud ESOC, simulating five operational days in structure appears as a dense, almost is useful for tracing the dynamics in this featureless haze forming some a ‘polar orbit and processing the data coming from region. cap’ on Venus. The dark, circular feature the satellite through the complete ground visible at the lowest part of the image is segment, including the data-processing A first-ever surface temperature distribution one of the dark streaks usually present in centres of the two scientific instruments. map of the southern hemisphere has been the polar region, indicating atmospheric parcels spiralling towards the pole compiled. New data have shown a (ESA/MPS/DLR/IDA) Overall, the test activities of the last months

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built in parallel by Oerlikon Space (CH) to be Ariane-5 in order to accommodate the severe used for flight. The on-board software JWST mass increase. The extra launch capacity will Solar Orbiter development is proceeding. The versions 2.0 also be used to provide design robustness and 2.1 are being used by the Drag Free for critical areas, e.g. for adequate radiator Attitude Control (DFAC) team in Astrium After successfully passing the mission PDR margin and for a temperature decrease on The Solar Orbiter Definition Phase (Phase GmbH and by Astrium Ltd for their testing. and the Non-Advocate Review, the James solar arrays and mechanisms. On that basis, B1) is being performed by an industrial team These two test set-ups (Real-time Test Webb Space Telescope was formally the system design is now being reiterated. led by Astrium Ltd (UK) and including Benches) will proceed in parallel initially with approved at the NASA programme The PDR has been pushed back by one year Astrium GmbH (D) and Thales Alenia Italy. It electrical units and later with flight units until management council meeting. and as a consequence, the launch is foreseen will culminate in Autumn 2009 with a System spacecraft FM integration. in August 2014. The SPC has been informed Requirements Review. Design trade-offs are Integration activities on the Near Infrared of the BepiColombo situation and of the addressing all major subsystems and the The two European micropropulsion Spectrograph (NIRSpec) development model order of magnitude of the cost impact. In spacecraft heat shield upon which the technologies (needle indium thrusters and are progressing, with the cryogenic harness view of the overall impact on the scientific survival of the spacecraft will depend when it slit caesium thrusters) continue their already routed on the optical bench and the programme, the SPC was asked to vote for gets close to the sun. The spacecraft baseline challenging development to prove the structural-thermal assemblies integrated. The cancellation of the BepiColombo project, design relies heavily on the re-use of readiness of the technologies. Especially in instrument control electronic and control however, the required 2/3 majority was not technology and equipment from the slit technology, substantial steps have been S/W passed successfully their CDR and the reached. Therefore the project team should BepiColombo project. made towards a final validation of the optical performance at ambient of the propose a workable solution by the Slit FEEP thruster cluster development model for LISA Pathfinder technology, expected by the end of the year. Integral Field Unit Qualification is within November SPC. The instrument proposals received from under vibration test at ALTA (I) The technology that will not be selected for Microscope specification. The measurements of flight Europe and the United States in response to flight will be held as a back-up. that the corresponding tests required to candidate detector chips are ongoing. The schedule for the Instrument Preliminary the Solar Orbiter Payload Announcement of demonstrate fulfilment of these criteria are Intensive work with breadboard models Design Reviews (IPDR) has been adjusted to Opportunity released in October 2007 have Concerning the LTP, after completion of the The T-Sage payload development is properly planned. In the meantime CNES will continues for the cryo-mechanism’s grating the actual project programme taking into been subjected to a scientific and technical system CDR, the work is focused on the progressing on schedule. pursue a Phase B of the cold-gas mission and prism mount and for the refocus account the individual payload status, and evaluation by both ESA and NASA. The critical subsystems, e.g. caging mechanism, configuration to obtain the same level of mechanism mirror. The instrument CDR priorities for the near-term workplan were spacecraft definition will now be adjusted to electrode housing and Data Management In the micropropulsion area, an ESA/CNES definition as for the FEEP-based mission for board meeting is now planned for December agreed with the Principal Investigators. The take into account the detailed payload Unit software. All the LTP Electrical Models status review was held end April 2008. At the which Phase B has been completed already. 2008. first IPDR started in March 2008, and the last complement as selected. (ELM) have been built and delivered to Microscope Steering Committee meeting, design reviews should be completed in Astrium GmbH for the Real-time Test Bench held in May 2008, it was recognised that a The first cryo-test campaign of the Mid Autumn 2008. Interfaces for both In parallel, technology development activities and all electronics FM units are expected to decision could not made then on the thruster Gaia Infrared Instrument (MIRI) Verification Model instruments are being consolidated in close are advancing the readiness level of several be delivered by the end of the year. technology to be adopted for Microscope. It was successfully completed. Following the cooperation with the spacecraft prime key elements. The Heat Rejecting Entrance was requested to define objective criteria that successful delivery of the telescope contractor team. The BELA experiment Window breadboard has been submitted to a The launch is expected to take place at the will permit the choice between FEEP and Contract negotiations with the prime simulator, final cryo performance test is now definition is progressing with an optimised full qualification testing sequence. A end of 2010. cold-gas micropropulsions and to make sure contractor Astrium SAS (F), for the due to start in August. The imager laser transmitter subsystem. The MIXS commercially available visible light detector conversion of the C/D ceiling price, are qualification review was passed successfully. mirror optics module has completed the first has been characterised and submitted to almost completed. The contract should be The MIRI schedule has been recovered by design phase and the experiment total-dose radiation testing, to be followed signed within the third quarter of 2008. modifying the manufacturing sequence of the configuration is being consolidated. later by proton testing. Investigations into grating and filter wheel mechanisms; the first the possibility of space qualifying a liquid The equipment procurement has continued units delivered will now be used for Work in Japan on the Mercury crystal polariser have been started. and only few non-flight items remain to be integration in the instrument flight model. Magnetospheric Orbiter (MMO) is continuing subcontracted. At unit level, only two PDRs in the C/D phase. are still to be held. As a consequence the The launcher Interface Control Document CDR’s process has started. issue 1.0 was released in June by Arianespace. Improvement of cleanliness The release of the manufacturing drawings control of the launcher environment, using for the production of the optical bench Herschel/Planck as test case, is also (Torus) is progressing almost nominally. The ongoing. first segment has been manufactured.

The implementation of the science ground BepiColombo segment moves ahead as well. The second meeting of the Steering Committee of the MIRI Telescope Simulator after delivery to RAL Data Process and Analysis Consortium The mission Tiger Team has been tasked to (UK) (MIRI European Telescope integration to the Herschel spacecraft (DPAC) has taken place. define a mission based on a launch with Consortium)

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The Instrument Multilateral Agreement for for Rockot, a new launch date in September compatibility of the command and control LISA the ExoMars payloads was approved by the AKARI was agreed by all parties. centre at ESOC with the satellite, a HME Programme Board and now awaits complementary SVT has been planned for signature by the Lead Funding Agencies that The activities required to cope with the new September 2008. Additional compatibility The Mission Formulation contract started in will be delayed until the results of the ESA The AKARI project has been reviewed by launch date included the selection of new testing has been performed with the ‘RF- January 2005 with Astrium GmbH has Ministerial Council in November 2008. The JAXA, who supported the implementation of optimal orbit injection parameters. As a suitcase’, which demonstrated the produced a solid mission baseline design ExoMars Programme Proposal was reviewed the Post-Helium (i.e. warm) Phase consequence, GOCE will be launched into a compatibility of the satellite telecommand and has analysed in detail a few alternative several times in this period and is essentially observations for an interval of three years. dusk-dawn orbit, which will allow science and telemetry physical radio-frequency links designs aimed at reducing complexity and in its final form pending last inputs related to Post-Helium phase observations offer operations to remain unaffected by eclipses with a reference ground station. Testing of cost. Recent discussions with NASA have led the overall programme costs expected in imaging and spectroscopy in the until end of March 2009. Moreover, the the interfaces between the different elements to the concrete possibility of ESA assuming September-October. 2–5 micrometre wavelength range. The presently low solar activity has offered the of the ground segment has also continued. the LISA mission leadership, thanks to the routine phase started with guaranteed time opportunity to lower the satellite injection fundamental preparation performed in the observations on 1 June. The ESA and JAXA altitude by 10 km, which in turn improves the During April, a further measurement framework of the LISA Pathfinder mission. Call for Proposals for open time gravity gradient signal strength and reduces campaign in the CryoVex series was This implies that ESA will be responsible for observations, issued in May, closed in July the time needed to decay to the target completed very successfully. The calibration, the LISA mission performance and eventually with 40 proposals received in total. Further to altitude for the first measurement phase. validation and retrieval team is now working Enhanced ExoMars Rover for the mission success. peer review, open time observations are Finally, changing from a dawn-dusk orbit to a on processing the results. expected to start in mid October. dusk-dawn orbit has required the The scope of the work that has been carried reconfiguration of some platform and out by Astrium so far was mainly GOCE in flight configuration at The AKARI pointed observation data archive payload elements, notably the mounting SMOS concentrated on the payload design. In the ESTEC was opened for general community use on 7 location of star cameras and GPS antennas, forthcoming extension, it will be extended to March. The data being made available at this and an update of the on-board application the overall system and mission, time are those taken in the Large Area software. The formal consent to ship the With the satellite AIT programme finished, encompassing initiation of an end to end Surveys and in the guaranteed time satellite to the launch site was given on SMOS is being prepared for storage, with performance simulation, apportionment and programmes, which were archived before 18 July. some remaining activities to be performed iterations on the performances required by March 2007 for internal use, and all towards the end of the year (final software the various subsystems, in relation with the Director's Time and Calibration observations, On the ground segment side, the main uploading, third system validation test, CTP technology development activities, including data taken in the Performance activities have been the rehearsal of all second adaptor fit check). In the meantime, consolidation of the system design and Verification phase. AKARI cold-phase open Payload Data Ground Segment operations the satellite qualification review is conducted interface requirements. This will allow to time observations will be in the public and the preparations for the final Low Earth under CNES lead.In parallel, the finalisation progress with NASA on respective roles and domain in September 2008. New versions of Orbit Phase and commissioning phase of launcher-related documentation is taking responsibilities and the mission to reach the the data reduction pipelines and associated simulations. Additionally, a slightly updated place, to be reviewed at the final mission required level of maturity for the Cosmic user documentation have been released in version of the Level 1 to Level 2 processing analysis meeting scheduled for October 2008 Vision L1 mission selection planned for the June by the AKARI User Support teams. facility has been accepted. With the in Moscow. end of 2009. conclusion of these activities the ground ESA pointing reconstruction data have been segment is ready for launch. Delivery and integration testing of the ground delivered to ISAS for inclusion in the survey segment elements is taking place in the ExoMars catalogues generation software. The ground segment overall validation. While catalogues are planned to be released for CryoSat most functions are available as needed, the Phase B2 work progressed well during this internal use in September 2008 and one year final operational processors to be installed period with the entire industrial team being later for public use. are still under development. However, kick-off and a contract for the Phase B2 and The satellite is fully integrated except for one intermediate deliveries allow reasonably Advanced C/D activities signed in June. The delayed subsystem. Nevertheless, system representative test scenarios to be run. Advanced C/D activities are proceeding well, GOCE level testing is proceeding with engineering with the issue of several ITTs to start model equipment as a substitute. However, a A rehearsal of the validation campaign took schedule critical procurements and to build The investigation into the cause of a delay in the satellite's environmental test place in Spring with the University of up the industrial team. Breeze-M upper-stage rocket failure that led campaign is required and consequently the Helsinki’s Skyvan aircraft, equipped with real to the temporary halt of Rockot launches – start of the campaign (requiring transport of and synthetic aperture radiometers, an On the international cooperation side, an thus delaying the launch of GOCE – the satellite from Astrium Friedrichshafen to infrared camera, and GPS reflectometry ESA/NASA Letter of Agreement for concluded that the failure was linked to IABG Munich) has been formally moved from instrumentation. This exercised all logistics, cooperation on ExoMars was signed as well pipework being stressed in long-duration mid-July 2008 to mid-September 2008. procedures, data processing and as the ExoMars and Phobos-Grunt burns not foreseen for launches into low interpretation in order to make sure cooperation agreement for cooperation with Earth orbit. Following confirmation of the Following the successful System Validation everything works for the real validation Russia. flight-worthiness of the Breeze upper stage Test (SVT) in March 2008, which tested the campaign after launch.

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are making good progress. An advanced coordinated fashion among the three ADM-Aeolus version of the satellite application software is MetOp Sentinels, good progress has been achieved currently under test and the formal following a commonly agreed among the qualification review of the application three Sentinel prime contractors. The Investigations could show that the anomaly software is foreseen in July 2008. MetOp-A negotiation of the conversion of the ceiling found during the laser vacuum test in April MetOp-A continues to perform excellently in- price for the Phase C/D is progressing in 2008 was due to particles on the surface of orbit. Investigations on the HRPT anomaly on parallel. one of the optical elements in the laser Swarm MetOp-A revealed the unanticipated sensitivity Master Oscillator that led to laser-induced of the power gallium-arsenide field effect damage of the optical coating. The particles transistors. Pending the results of the Sentinel-2 were released by an adhesive bond near the The Critical Design Review (CDR) of the investigation and eventual corrective action, component. An updated manufacturing structure was successful. This paves the way procurement of replacement transistors, less procedure will be applied to prevent release for the manufacturing and assembly of the sensitive to heavy ions, is under way. The Following prime contract signature for the of particles in the future. satellite structural model due to be tested replacement transistors would be integrated delivery of the first satellite model between during the first quarter of next year within on the MetOp-B and MetOp-C HRPTs . On 10 May 2008, the volcano Etna erupted on Sicily. The Global Ozone Monitoring Experiment 2 (GOME-2) on MetOp-A measured the ESA and Astrium GmbH on 17 April 2008, To reduce the risk of further anomalies that the test facility of IABG at Ottobrunn. The The transistors have successfully passed their the satellite and payload instrument system resulting sulphur dioxide SO2 plume, which reached an altitude of 12 km. The data were evaluated by scientists at DLR (Eumetsat/DLR) could delay the qualification of the laser it recovery plan initiated last quarter for the heavy ion radiation test. level trade-offs have been completed was decided to perform a comprehensive development of the optical bench in carbon allowing the generation of consolidated review of the laser design margins and fibre is completed. The structural model of On 1 July, the Eumetsat Council has decided thermal frames, on the side of the radial specifications. Phase B2 procurement performance predictions and identify the optical bench will be tested early to abandon the LRPT services on the thrusters. With the satellite spinning at Sentinel-1 activities are intensifying (about 60 weaknesses in the baseline configuration, if September this year. Eumetsat Polar System (EPS), which means 100 rpm, the centrifugal forces experienced procurement actions), and several equipment any. This review, with experts from the that the LRPT on board the MetOp spacecraft on these frames are about 17g. The thermal manufacturers have now joined the industrial industrial consortium, ESA and external The CDR of the Electrical Field Instrument will remain switched off. and dynamic behaviour of the satellite fit with The Phase B2 is approaching its conclusion prime and core team consortium (e.g. for the independent consultants, took place in May (EFI) is ongoing. The engineering models of this assumption. The satellite experiences with the Preliminary Design Review. The Data GPS receiver, instrument optical filters). The and June 2008. the EFI instrument and the digital processing MetOp-B and MetOp-C larger thermal gradients during eclipse nights, Package was delivered on 25 April, the main first equipment PDR for instrument SWIR unit of the Scalar magnetometer are ready Although the MetOp Payload Modules, PLM- however all parameters remain in the nominal presentation was held on 9 May at ESTEC detectors has been held. Activities related to On the basis of existing vacuum test data for an electrical compatibility test with the 1 and PLM-3, are in long-term storage, there area. The performance of the imaging serv i c e (attended also by external experts from DLR, image quality monitoring and the definition and performance predictions the review satellite. The ground segment activities for are still some residual AIT activities to be has not suffered and is still excellent. CSA, CNES, CDTI) and the PDR Board was of prototype processor algorithms has been came to the conclusion that the required the development of the payload data and the performed that require dismounting of some held on 4 July at ESTEC. initiated by CNES in support to the Sentinel-2 thermo-elastic stability improvements of the flight operations system are on track with a instruments for repair, recalibration and/or On 2 April 2008, Meteosat-8 started a drift project team. Master Oscillator have been achieved, as the Preliminary Design Review (PDR) scheduled alignment. The MetOp Service Modules are from 3.4° West to 9.5° East, in preparation for The PDR was successful pending the result of the extensive modifications that in September. kept in storage at Astrium Toulouse, waiting the new Rapid Scan Service (RSS), and resolution, within next October, of a limited The ‘Sentinel-2 Payload Instrument PDR’ and were implemented in the Master Oscillator. It for the restart of AIT activities in 2009 for a arrived there on 28 April. The MSG Rapid number of issues. The procurement of the ‘Sentinel-2 System PDR’ will take place in pointed out, however, that further The next major step for the Swarm planned MetOp-B launch in 2011. Scan Service was declared operational on equipments has progressed and only about a two incremental steps from September to improvements of the beam stability in the programme during the next quarter will be 13 May 2008, with new MSG Level 1.5 Image dozen equipments remain to be assigned. For November 2008. amplifier and harmonic section are the consolidation of the satellite design at Product Effective Radiance Definition being the equipments to be procured in a necessary. Also, the robustness of some unit/instrument level with the completion of Meteosat applied. The MSG RSS is a follow-on to the optical elements against laser-induced the unit level CDR. Meteosat-6 RSS (terminated 8 January 2007). damage should be increased by implementing new state-of-the-art coatings. Meteosat 8/MSG-1 Meteosat-9/MSG-2 Investigations into the uncommanded orbit Meteosat-9 is Eumetsat’s nominal operational The parallel activities of performing of the change of the Meteosat-8 spacecraft are still satellite at 0º longitude, with Meteosat-8 as Swarm’s new CFRP STM optical bench with the Vector Fluxgate repairs in the Master Oscillator, improving Magnetometer sensor head assembled on the right side of the ongoing. The most likely cause for the its back-up. Satellite and instruments the beam stability of the amplifier and picture (EADS Astrium GmbH) o b s e rved anomaly would be the loss of two performance are excellent. harmonic section, and replacing some of the The movement of the

optical elements by upgraded ones have MSG-3 and MSG-4 SO2 cloud from Etna over been initiated. The laser qualification Both MSG-3 and MSG-4 are in intermediate the Mediterranean Sea towards the Middle East programme will be resumed once these storage in the Thales Alenia Space Cannes, and up to Iran can also modifications are in place. In addition, some awaiting the restart of the AIT campaign be followed with back-up solutions are being prepared in case begin 2010, to prepare MSG-3 for its launch, Meteosat-9 in this these measures do not prove fully currently foreseen for early 2011. MSG-4 is composite RGB/IR successful. still awaiting its completion of the MSG-4 image, taken on 13 May 2008, 12:00 UTC with Pre-Storage Review. The MSG-4 launch is ECMWF winds at 200 hPa The system tests at satellite platform level planned not earlier than 2013. (Eumetsat/ECMWF)

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is ongoing, aiming to optimise the working for the protoflight platform, to ensure with M2R engine has been completed with a Sentinel-3 temperature while reducing the overall compatibility with the first flight application total of more than 4500 s cumulated hot- instrument mass. (Alphasat), has been satisfactorily concluded firing test duration demonstrated on the Vinci and manufacturing of the flight structure has engine. Following the signature between ESA and the The first major programme review is the been authorised. Sentinel-3 prime (Thales Alenia Space – satellite PDR, planned to start in August In Main Stage Propulsion activity, the post- France) of the Phase B2-C-D-E1 Contract on 2008 and the agreed list of PDR documents In the Alphasat programme, the detailed test review of LOx/LH2 coupled test was held 14 April, the finalisation and signature of the is under preparation. Also the preparation of definition of the challenging operational on 21 May. The subscale demonstrator lower level contracts between the prime and the five lower level PDRs (platform and payload required for the Inmarsat I-XL accumulated 450 s hot-firing test time, the other core team partners is on going, instrument) planned in the forthcoming continues. The main reflector and feed where main combustion chamber and pre- aiming to have most of them completed months is on going. configuration has been frozen and the burner pressures reached respectively more before the summer holidays break. All associated subcontracts begun. The Alphasat than 160 bars, and 220 bars and it enabled activities have been proceeding in the payload and satellite PDR is scheduled for also to characterise different injectors in a meantime through PATPs. EarthCARE S e p t e m b e r. wide operating domain. These tests constitute a first major step towards the The execution of the procurement tasks The development of the four Te c h n o l o g y high-thrust engine. through competitive Invitations To Tender The EarthCARE contractual and technical Demonstration Payloads, to be provided by A first set of cryogenic upper-stage (ITTs) is proceeding in all fields and it still baseline documentation was finalised in ESA for the Alphasat satellite, is under way. technologies has been selected; technology represents the main effort in this phase of preparation for the signature of the industrial These include an optical communications development and validation plans are being The ARTA 4 MPS test-firing on 5 April at the Guiana Space Centre, Kourou the programme. Roughly 100 procurement contract with Astrium GmbH. Contract terminal, a Q-V Band experiment, an advanced worked out. contracts have to be placed, 18 have been signature took place at the Berlin Air Show star tracker and an environments and effects Ariane 5 Development Programme. The next Russian UDMH (unsymmetrical concluded and another 25 are under on 27 May in the presence of the German f a c i l i t y. MPS ARTA test is expected in about two dimethylhydrazine) propellant fuel and 530 negotiation. All the ITTs related to flight Chancellor Angela Merkel. ARTA years from now. kg of nitrogen tetroxide (which provides a hardware have been issued and their Vega source of oxygen so that the fuel can ignite completion is expected in the coming Early Phase B activities are continuing with Flight Model manufacturing activities started. and burn in orbit) to the Russian-built Zarya quarter. the goal of consolidating system trade-offs at The Z23 Inert Motor Case Thermal The ARTA Programme, part of ESA’s Ariane-5 Human Spaceflight, module’s propulsion tanks. base platform and instrument level prior to Protection manufacturing was completed as Development Programme, is aimed at the On the technical side, the satellite baseline the System Requirements Review scheduled well as the InterStage Qualification Model. continuous verification of the qualification Microgravity and The on-orbit commissioning of ESA’s configuration to be presented at the PDR for later this year. The structure was sent for static tests to be status of the Ariane-5 launch system, Columbus laboratory payloads continued including the launcher interfaces, has been performed in July. In parallel, test activities checking the current production and Exploration over the last few months. The Biolab facility completed. At instrument level, the Ocean The participation of ESA’s partner agency are proceeding with Z9 firing test scheduled qualifying required modifications to the commissioning was completed, the Fluid and Launcher Colour Instrument (OLCI) and JAXA, which is responsible for the delivery of in September. An updated plan was issued launcher design before they enter service. International Space Station Science Laboratory is in the final stage of the Radar Altimeter (SRAL) consolidation are the EarthCARE Cloud Profiling Radar, has with a launch date in November 2009. The Expedition 17 crew, aboard Soyuz TMA- facility commissioning, the European Drawer proceeding nominally. On OLCI, due to the been formally approved in Japan and the The ARTA 4 MPS (Moteur Propergol Solide) 12, successfully docked with the ISS on Rack including the Protein Crystallisation advanced status of development, the PDR of JAXA project team was officially instated on Soyuz at CSG test-firing took place on 5 April at the BEAP 10 April 2008. Diagnostics Facility have been successfully the Video Acquisition Module is already 1 July. The Mobile Gantry Steering board took place (Banc d’Essais des Accélérateurs à Poudre) commissioned, and the European Physiology ongoing, as well as the preparation of the on 3 April 2008. The Critical Design Review in Guiana Space Centre, Kourou, French ESA’s Automated Transfer Vehicle, ATV Jules Modules have been largely commissioned OLCI S/S breadboarding activities. On SRAL Activities are in progress in the project’s of the Soyuz Launch System ground Guiana. Initial analysis of the data shows that Verne, was used for the first time on 25 April with the exception of few minor steps at the design activities during this period Joint Mission Advisory Group to establish a segment took place from 8 April to 16 May performance was in line with predictions. An to raise the orbit of the ISS. A 740-second instrument level. focused on the replacement of several way forward for the collaborative and the relevant Steering Board closed the in-depth analysis has started now to evaluate burn of the ATV’s main engines successfully obsolete or non-European components, European/Japanese development of level 2 review on the 20 June 2008. the results with respect to the specific lifted the altitude of the 280-tonne ISS by Space Infrastructure Development and present in the original design inherited from algorithms which will allow full exploitation The arrival of the first shipment of Russian objectives of the test: verification of current around 4.5 km to a height of 342 km above Exploitation previous projects. Alternative design of the synergy between the four instruments equipment in French Guiana is expected by production stability, efficiency of pressure Earth’s surface. The reboost set up the ISS solutions are being assessed through unit of the EarthCARE payload. the end of July, in parallel with the arrival of oscillation reduction device, simplification of for the arrival of Space Shuttle Discovery Infrastructure Development breadboards. On the Microwave Radiometer, a precursor team of 40 Russian specialists. manufacturing process, behaviour of new (launched 31 May) on the STS-124 mission The Study on a Columbus external platform the design of the switch assembly for products to solve current obsolescence, etc. that delivered the Japanese ‘Kibo’ (Hope) capability for small payloads (SPERO) and a calibration and redundancy has evolved and Alphabus/Alphasat FLPP laboratory. EuTEF-2 Feasibility Study are ongoing with a consolidation is expected within the next The IXV System Requirement Review was The main goal of this ARTA test was to verify industry. month. successfully completed. Wind tunnel test the qualification status of the current MPS On 19 June, ATV Jules Verne was used to The Critical Design Review for the generic campaign started and has already shown solid rocket booster production with respect reboost the ISS for the second time. The ATV Production Finally the Sea and Land Surface Alphabus platform was successfully promising results on the stability of the IXV to potential manufacturing process drifts. reboost consumed about 400 kg of The ATV-2 integration progressed well. The Temperature Instrument is undergoing an completed with a final Board close-out in transonic phase. This was the fourth test of an MPS since the propellant on board Jules Verne. The ATV ATV-3 equipment was released for overall consolidation of the meeting in April. In parallel, a detailed beginning of the Ariane-5 ARTA programme Jules Verne was also used for the first time procurement with a few exceptions following thermomechanical design of the instrument definition of the specific adaptations required The Expander Demonstrator test campaign and the eleventh since the start of the to successfully transfer about 280 kg of the the ATV Production Readiness Review on

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with an exhaustive science programme until instrument still runs operationally in Destiny The MASER-11 rocket roll-out on 15 May 2008 end 2008. and continues to deliver invaluable cabin air constituents data. The European Drawer Rack, including the Protein Crystallisation Diagnostics Facility ESA’s complementary experimental (PCDF), are now ready for the start of the programme in the Russian ISS segment is four-month protein science programme of nominally progressing with five experiments the first PCDF experiments which will be in respiration (NOA-1/-2), radiation (Altcriss, uploaded on the next Shuttle flight (ULF-2) to Matroshka-2B) and technology (GTS-2). ISS. The MASER-11 sounding rocket flight was The first three sessions of the 3D space successfully performed at Esrange (Sweden) neurophysiology experiment has been on 15 May, with a set of four extraordinary successfully performed. The preparations for applied research experiments with novel the SOLO nutrition experiment are completed instrumentation on board. This and it is ready for execution by the end of the accomplishment proves again this invaluable engineers, exercise specialists, medical To prepare for this ultimate goal, ESA ongoing mission increment. mission asset for the European science experts in nutrition, radiation, psychology envisages a series of intermediate steps, community. and physiotherapy, information technology similar to its international partners, such as The European Technology Exposure Facility experts and project managers, all focused on technology developments and technology- An original 19th century luxury edition of Jules Verne’s book ‘De la Terre à la Lune’ and two of his handwritten manuscripts were among the cargo to arrive at the ISS when ATV Jules Verne docked last April. The Expedition 17 crew, Greg Chamitoff, Oleg Kononenko (EuTEF) science and technology programme The 48th ESA A300 Parabolic Flight providing the best possible care for European driven precursor and exploration missions. and Sergei Volkov, are seen here retrieving the book and manuscripts from the ATV’s cargo hold to mark the occasion of July’s ISS is progressing well; all nine instruments are Campaign was successfully performed in astronaut health. The CMSO team is a ESA intends to make the Core programme a Heads of Agencies meeting in Paris. (NASA) continuously delivering science data March with a focus on fundamental and significant contributing partner of the source of key technologies and capabilities according to their experiment protocols. The applied research in heat and mass transfer. Integrated Medical Group (IMG) that that can support Europe’s ambition for an 17 April 2008. The ATV-2 launch is now Utilisation SOLAR payload and instruments have been The next flight campaign is already under comprises representatives from all five enhanced role in the upcoming human scheduled for the second quarter of 2010. The first Biolab experiment, WAICO Run#1 performing the first three sun observation preparation for Autumn 2008. international partner agencies. exploration endeavours. The ATV rack design was optimised and (studying the waving and coiling behaviour cycles. Currently a communication link failure qualification tests were running without any of Arabidopsis roots), has been completed; is under investigation. Astronauts ESA astronauts will have more opportunities CSTS problems. The formal transition process and the for experiment reactors with the On 19 May, ESA began its search for new to participate in long-duration missions now The situation in the crew transportation field between ATV development and ATV zero-g plants have been returned to Earth for The Cell Wall Resist Wall experiment of JAXA astronauts, calling for applications from that Columbus is an integrated part of ISS. has evolved considerably in the last weeks. production has been started both at ESA and detailed laboratory analysis. has been completed in ESA’s European talented individuals who wish to join the Hence, the CMSO is constantly engaged to On the Russian side, the work under the on the industry side. Modular Cultivation System (EMCS) and the European Astronaut Corps. At the close of help optimize their health before a mission, Crew Space Transportation System (CSTS) The first Fluid Science Laboratory plant samples returned to ground on the the application phase, ESA received 8413 reduce as much as possible the deleterious Preparatory Programme has focused on the Operations experiment, GEOFLOW (studying the Shuttle. Exhaustive ground tests are ongoing completed applications. The Astronaut physiological effects of being in space during further definition of the concept selected for The Columbus laboratory operations thermally-driven and magnetic field driven to secure the full EMCS facility performance Selection Team, based at the European a mission, and maximise a rehabilitation and the crew transportation vehicle. continued without problems on the system geophysical flows) is on board and is for ESA’s next experiment, GENARA, which Astronaut Centre (EAC) in Cologne, Germany, health programme after a mission to return side. All ATV Jules Verne systems continued expected to begin immediately after the final will study the existence of gravity-regulated now have the challenging task to select the the ESA astronaut back to optimal health as In the meantime, with the support of to operate nominally. Most of the remaining optical checkout of FSL at the end of July, genes in Arabidopsis plants. The ANITA best applicants. Those who make it through quickly as possible. CMSO works closely European industry involved in CSTS, ESA has docked phase activities were carried out in this first screening step will be invited in the with both the US and Russian space evaluated alternative options for a crew June. In addition to the propellant, over next weeks to the first round of agencies to combine efforts and use most transportation system based on the Ariane-5 80 litres of water were successfully psychological tests in Hamburg. effectively the resources to provide this launcher and a stepped approach, with the transferred from the ATV to the Russian support. first element being a cargo return capability segment. In addition, two of the empty ATV ESA Medical Operations for long-duration from the ISS. water tanks have been used to collect ISS missions Exploration condensation water following anomalies in The successful Columbus mission signals A programme proposal for the development the ISS condensate collection system. the beginning of a long-term European Core Element of a new crew transportation system is being presence in space. Columbus is a place for In the European Aurora space exploration prepared by ESA. The proposal would aim to Discussions are taking place on the ATV European astronauts to live and work on a programme, the Core element is meant to establish a European level of autonomy in the undocking date. To allow reentry at night, a regular basis, protected from the harsh ‘define, implement, and where possible/ strategic field of human access to space, date of 29 September is currently targeted. environment of space. As such, there is a useful, demonstrate capabilities and/or while positioning Europe for a more effective The target undock date will be early corresponding dedicated team of experienced technologies to support a European long- cooperation with the international partners. September to make way for the docking of medical and health professionals in the ESA term plan for robotic and human e the next Progress. Crew Medical Support Office (CMSO) exploration’, whose ultimate goal is a human Mounted on Columbus, SOLAR is seen here in front of the Shuttle Atlantis, showing the movement bracket holding the scientific working to support European astronauts. mission to Mars. instruments (NASA) The CMSO team consists of physicians,

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Astronaut Applications from all ESA Member States ESA Astronaut Selections

ESA started its first astronaut selection in ESA began its search for new best applicants. Those who make “I am very pleased that we have 1977, finding four European Payload astronauts on 19 May this year, it through this first selection received so many applications Specialist candidates for the first Spacelab calling for applications from receive a letter inviting them to stemming from all our 17 ESA mission. This stemmed from the talented individuals who wish to participate in the next stage – the Member States,” said Simonetta agreement in 1973 between ESA and join the European Astronaut psychological testing. Di Pippo, ESA’s Director of NASA to supply the Spacelab, a reusable In Brief Corps. Human Spaceflight. “This shows science laboratory that would be carried in “We now have a large number of that the strong commitment for the Space Shuttle’s cargo bay, in exchange Out of almost 10 000 individuals highly qualified applicants. I am Human Spaceflight and for flight opportunities for European who registered to begin the confident that we will find the Exploration, which ESA and its The first ESA astronauts selected: Nicollier, Merbold, Ockels and a s t r o n a u t s . In May 1991, Belgium selected its five candidates for the 1992 application process, outstanding individuals we are Member States demonstrated in Malerba ESA selection. Left to right, Werner Stessens, Frank De Winne, 8413 aspiring astronauts looking for. This will be ensured holding the first astronaut From this selection campaign, ESA chose Marianne Merchez, Vladimir Pletser, Lucien Halleux provided the required medical by the next selection steps, selection after more than 15 its first astronauts: Claude Nicollier (CH), certificate and finalised their starting with a first round of years, is met by an equally strong Wubbo Ockels (NL) and Ulf Merbold (D). online application forms. This psychological testing,” said interest from European citizens.” Franco Malerba (I) was also chosen in this qualified them for the next step Michel Tognini, Head of EAC. group, but later resigned for medical in the selection process. Most of the applications were reasons (Malerba then joined ESA’s Space These tests aim to identify the received from France (22.1%) and Science Department at ESTEC, working on The Astronaut Selection Team, psychological and technical skills Germany (21.4%) followed by an ionospheric plasma physics experiment based at the European Astronaut of the applicants, who will be Italy (11.0%), the United Kingdom to be flown on Spacelab in 1983. Malerba Centre (EAC) in Cologne, tested in different fields including (9.8%) and Spain (9.4%). 18% of eventually flew as the first Italian citizen in Germany, now has the visual memory and psychomotor the total of applications were space on STS-46 in 1992, sponsored by challenging task of selecting the aptitude. submitted by women. e the Italian space agency ASI.).

ESA astronaut recruitment campaign 2008 Merbold became the first ESA astronaut to DLR’s first astronauts were chosen for the German-sponsored fly on a Space Shuttle mission, the 10-day The second ESA astronaut group: clockwise from left, Christer Spacelab D-1 mission on board the Shuttle. Left, Reinhard STS-9/Spacelab-1 flight in 1983. Not only Fuglesang, Thomas Reiter, Pedro Duque, Jean-Francois Clervoy, Furrer, and right, Ernst Messerschmid. ESA’s Wubbo Ockels Country No. of applicants % of total Men Women was this the first flight of an ESA Marianne Merchez, Maurizio Cheli (centre) completed the European part of the crew Austria 210 2.5% astronaut, it was the first flight of the Belgium 253 3.0% European-built Spacelab and the first flight of a non-US citizen on the Shuttle. Denmark 35 0.4% Finland 336 4.0% In the 1980s, while ESA astronauts were France 1860 22.1% taking part in Shuttle/Spacelab missions, Germany 1798 21.4% several other European countries and Greece 159 1.9% Member States of ESA, began recruiting Ireland 128 1.5% their own astronauts in national Italy 927 11.0% campaigns. Many of these nationally Luxembourg 14 0.2% selected astronauts flew on Russian Soyuz Netherlands 203 2.4% missions to the Mir space station or on Norway 74 0.9% Space Shuttle missions as Payload Portugal 210 2.5% Specialists. Spain 789 9.4% The European Astronaut Centre (EAC) was Sweden 172 2.0% founded in 1990 in response to ESA’s Switzerland 351 4.2% many ongoing projects and studies that United Kingdom 822 9.8% Five more candidates were chosen by DLR in 1987. The group is seen here with original German astronaut Ulf Merbold: from would eventually be realigned into Other 72 0.9% left, Ulrich Walter, Gerhard Thiele, Merbold, Renate Brümmer, E u r o p e ’s contribution to the ISS including In 1992, Clervoy and Cheli joined the NASA Group 14, to train Hans Schlegel and Heike Walpot the Columbus orbital laboratory. EAC as mission Specialists alongside Claude Nicollier Total 8413 100.0% 7111 1302

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Astronaut Applications from all ESA Member States ESA Astronaut Selections

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Refuelling in Orbit: Jules Verne’s Premiere for Europe: psychological, medical and professional In 1998, the European Member States screening process, 59 candidates were decided to merge the national astronaut identified for the final ESA selection. teams and to reinforce a European identity by forming a single ‘European Astronaut Six candidates were selected, including Corps’. This process was concluded in only one previously selected national 2002 when Philippe Perrin became the astronaut: Jean-Francois Clerv o y, the first last member to join, bringing the Corps up French member of the Corps. Also to 16 astronauts (Perrin had been a CNES selected were Thomas Reiter (D), Maurizio s p a t i o n a u t since 1996 and had flown as a The newly formed European Astronaut Corps in 1998, with Cheli (I), Maria Merchez (B), Christer Mission Specialist on STS-111 in 2002. members joining from national space agencies, Umberto Fuglesang (S) and Pedro Duque (E). After this flight he joined ESA to work on Guidoni (I), Jean-Pierre Haignere (F), Leopold Eyharts (F), M e rchez later resigned for personal AT V. He left the European Astronaut Corps Claudie Haignere (F), Paolo Nespoli (I), Reinhold Ewald (D) and Roberto Vittori (I) reasons. in 2004 before he could fly in space as an ESA astronaut.). In the following six years, Europe would achieve many milestones in human There are currently eight astronauts in the would increase the size of the European spaceflight. In 1992, Merbold became the European Astronaut Corps. After the new astronaut group and establish a centre of first ESA astronaut to undertake a second selection campaign, four candidates will excellence in Europe for astronaut space mission (Spacelab IML-1, STS-42) be chosen for training to be ready for a selection, training and medical support. and Claude Nicollier became the first flight to the ISS from 2013 onwards. With By 1991, there were 19 European European astronaut as a Mission Specialist the prospect of future human exploration astronauts in total; however they were on the Space Shuttle, taking over much missions to the Moon and Mars, another mostly members of the various national more operational responsibilities than the astronaut selection campaign could be astronaut groups with only three Payload Specialists before. carried out in 2014. e belonging to ESA (Ockels, Merbold and N i c o l l i e r ) . The ISS as seen in June 2008, showing latest additions – Kibo, Columbus and ATV (NASA)

ESA organised a second astronaut selection in 1992 for the Hermes manned ESA’s ATV Jules Verne became through dedicated pipes located “We are impressed by this new “Europe has gained a new space ‘space plane’ programme – since the first western spacecraft to outside the pressurised hulls of achievement of Jules Verne ATV, capability which represents a new cancelled – and Columbus. First there was refuel another space infrastructure ATV and the ISS. The fuel lines which went without a hitch. And step towards human spaceflights a national selection under the in orbit. On 17 June, Jules Verne run from the ATV, through the we really have to congratulate the and advanced exploration responsibility of each ESA Member State, was used for the first time to docking mechanism to the ISS’s teams of RSC Energia, Astrium programmes. ATV is the only and then each country had the opportunity transfer in one step 811 kg of own plumbing. and Thales Alenia Space for their western vehicle able to refuel to present up to five candidates to ESA for propellant to the International years of efforts to integrate the another spacecraft in a final selection. Space Station while the two The ISS crew was not involved Russian refuelling system in the complement to the Russian vehicles orbited Earth at in the refuelling operation – at ATV from the hardware and Progress,” said Jean-François Some of the Member States, such as 28 000 km/h. the time they were busy software point of view,” said Clervoy, ESA astronaut and ATV G e r m a n y, France, Austria and the United preparing for a spacewalk Massimo Cislaghi, ESA’s leader of senior advisor. Kingdom, had proposed candidates from It took less than half an hour to scheduled for early July. The Engineering Support Team. their previous national selections in the automatically transfer about ATV was prepared for the ATV Jules Verne has followed up 1980s, but others decided to hold new 280 kg of the Russian UDMH refuelling operations by the AT V “We have now successfully its successful automatic docking national pre-selection campaigns applying (unsymmetrical dimethyl- Control Centre in Toulouse. After performed all the nominal on 3 April 2008 by achieving all the newly established ESA criteria. hydrazine) propellant fuel and the necessary verifications to operations of Jules Verne, such its scheduled objectives - and 530 kg of nitrogen tetroxide to ensure no leakage was present as the ISS attitude control, the much more. Astronauts on the More than 22 000 candidates applied, the International Space Station's in the complete ATV piping ISS reboost, the gas transfer of ISS are discovering capabilities reflecting growing interest in Europe in (ISS) own Russian-built system, Moscow Control Centre air, the water transfer, the dry never planned for before its human spaceflight. Out of these, around propulsion tanks. initiated the automatic refuelling cargo and now the refuelling. mission. 5500 met the criteria to be taken into procedure sequence, with the Only undocking and re-entry consideration. After a national The European Astronaut Corps in 2002, with Frank De Winne (B), Michel Tognini (F), Philippe Perrin (F) and André Kuipers (NL) Because of the toxic and active support of the Engineering remain, which we hope to do in One of its empty tanks has explosive characteristics of the Support Team collocated in the September,” said Hervé Côme, successfully stored 110 litres of hydrazine, the transfer is done Moscow Control Centre. ESA’s ATV Mission Director. condensation water from the ISS.

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Water retrieval in this way was not Answering a request from the ISS washing with their usual wet Some crewmembers also enjoy planned in AT V ’s original crew, ESA ATV managers fabric towels and treated napkins. Jules Verne as their sleeping Rosetta Wakes up for Asteroid Encounter objectives. Five 22-litre water bags authorised the use of Jules They also wash their hair with an quarters, given that the sound had been used to store this Verne’s area by the astronauts for alcohol-free rinseless shampoo. level of the ventilator fans and air unwanted condensation water circulation is relatively low. before transferring it into the Although the ISS has two small AT V ’s empty spherical water tanks. crew cabins, each one is big enough to accommodate only Since early April, the hatch has one person. The third ISS remained open between J u l e s crewmember can sleep anywhere Ve r n e and the rest of the ISS, at in the ISS, including inside the times making the European ATV, just as long as they attach spacecraft one of the centres of their sleeping bag to a wall! daily life for the crew and the ISS logistics activities. “The ATV’s pressurised cabin Crewmembers are using the offers the crew a large space, a extra 48 m3 of space in the lot of privacy and it also helps to European supply vessel as a new keep the station air humidity area to sleep and wash instead level lower,” said Hervé Côme, of using the usual Crew Hygiene ESA’s ATV Mission Director. S t a t i o n . ISS resident crews can enjoy ATV’s extra space e

Second Flight for ESA Astronaut Christer Fuglesang

ESA astronaut Christer Fuglesang (S) has been assigned as a Mission Specialist on board the 11-day STS-128 mission, currently scheduled for launch with Space Shuttle A t l a n t i s t o the International Space Station (ISS) on 30 July 2009. ESA’s Rosetta Spacecraft, now over 300 million km from the Sun This will be Fuglesang’s second flight after being a Mission Specialist on the 13-day STS-116 mission to the ISS in ESA mission controllers woke the n e c e s s a ry boost to continue on its this is only the beginning of the In preparation for the flyby, all the December 2006. For the STS-128 mission, Fuglesang will Rosetta spacecraft out of j o u r n e y. The third and last Earth m i s s i o n ’s science phase). instruments will be checked and undertake two spacewalks as part of his mission hibernation this July to prepare for swing-by is scheduled for tested in July. In August and early r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s . its encounter with asteroid (2867) November 2009. The spacecraft Rosetta will pass within 800 km of S e p t e m b e r, spacecraft operators Steins on 5 September. will also fly by two asteroids and (2867) Steins at 20:37 CEST on will conduct an optical navigation When he arrives at the ISS, he will again be meeting up with study them on the way: (2867) 5 September, at a relative speed of campaign: Steins will be tracked another ESA astronaut (this time Frank De Winne (B), who will Launched in March 2004, ESA’s Steins in September, and (21) 8.6 km/s. This flyby is particularly by the on-board cameras and the be a member of the ISS Expedition Crew). In December 2006, comet chaser will study the Lutetia in June 2010. exciting because it will push o b s e rvations will be used to refine ESA astronaut Thomas Reiter was on the ISS as the first ESA relatively rare asteroid as it flies by Rosetta to its design limits, due to the knowledge of its orbit which so astronaut to be a member of an ISS Expedition Crew and on its way to Comet 67/P After its last planetary swing-by on the fast rotation of the spacecraft far has only been derived from returned with Fuglesang on the return leg of the STS-116 C h u ryumov-Gerasimenko. Rosetta 13 November last year, Rosetta around the time of closest ground-based measurements. flight. will reach its final destination only headed towards the asteroid belt approach. This manoeuvre is in 2014, after travelling a total of between the orbits of Mars and n e c e s s a ry to ensure that the Asteroids are samples of the Solar The STS-128 Shuttle Atlantis will transport a Multi-Purpose about 6500 million km. J u p i t e r. On 27 March 2008, the asteroid will stay in the field of S y s t e m ’s material at different Logistics Module (MPLM) in its payload bay, which will carry spacecraft switched to its near- S u n view of the instruments. An in- stages of evolution, and studying science and storage racks to the ISS. MPLMs are Italian-built Rosetta has already swung by hibernation mode for a period of flight simulation of the flyby was them helps scientists understand pressurised cargo containers that travel in the Shuttle’s cargo Earth twice and Mars once, three months. During this phase, p e rfo rmed on 24 March 2008. The the origin and evolution of Earth b a y. e p e rforming gravity-assist some subsystems were put into a tests were successful, confirming and of our planetary manoeuvres to give it the dormant state to save power (as the spacecraft’s robustness. n e i g h b o u r h o o d . e

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Second Flight for ESA Astronaut Christer Fuglesang

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Ulysses Mission Ends in July Cassini Mission to Continue

space scene in recent years, but Ulysses is still unique t o d a y. Its special point of view over the Sun’s poles has never been covered by any later missions, making Ulysses’s pioneering character still valid. This legendary spacecraft has s e rved us extraordinarily well and it has certainly lived up to its mythical namesake’s r e p u t a t i o n . ”

Ulysses showed that the Sun’s magnetic field is carried into the Solar System in a more complicated manner than previously believed. Particles expelled by the Sun from low latitudes can climb up to high latitudes and vice versa, even unexpectedly finding their way down to planets. This is very important as regions of the Sun not previously considered as Titan, the resting place of ESA’s Huygens probe, forms the backdrop to the rings of Saturn and the tiny moon Epimetheus, seen by Cassini in April 2006 (NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute) possible sources of hazardous particles for astronauts and satellites must now be carefully Operations of Cassini, part of the The recently announced two-year The Cassini-Huygens Other activities for Cassini monitored. international NASA/ESA/ASI extension will include 60 observations of Saturn’s largest scientists will include monitoring Cassini-Huygens mission, have additional orbits of Saturn and moon, Titan, have given seasons on Titan and Saturn, Ulysses also detected and been extended by two years. This more flybys of its exotic moons. scientists a glimpse of what o b s e rving unique ring events, Artist’s impression of Ulysses crossing the tail of Comet Hyakutake in 1996 (David A. Hardy) studied dust flowing into our historic mission’s stunning Data from the extended mission Earth might have been like such as the 2009 equinox when Solar System from deep space discoveries and images have could lay the groundwork for before life evolved. They now the Sun will be in the plane of the and showed that it was 30 times revolutionised our knowledge of possible new missions to Titan believe Titan possesses many rings, and exploring new places After over 17 years of operation, team of NASA and ESA engineers below the poles of the Sun in the more abundant than Saturn and its moons. and Enceladus. parallels to Earth including lakes, within Saturn's magnetosphere. the joint ESA/NASA mission who have risen to every four dimensions of space and astronomers suspected. Perhaps rivers, channels, dunes, rain, Ulysses officially concluded on challenge. As the power supply time. most remarkably, the spacecraft More than 10 years after launch The Huygens probe successfully snow, clouds, mountains and Based on findings from Cassini, 1 July this year. The spacecraft, weakened over the years, so they detected helium atoms from and almost four years after completed its part of the possibly volcanoes. scientists think liquid water may which studied the Sun and its came up with ingenious ways of “Over almost two decades of deep space and confirmed that entering into orbit around Saturn, mission on 14 January 2005 be just beneath the surface of effect on the surrounding space conserving energy. This year, science observations by Ulysses, the Universe does not contain Cassini is a healthy and robust when it successfully entered The Huygens landing site, which S a t u r n ’s moon Enceladus. Cassini for almost four times its though, the power dwindled to we have learned a lot more than enough matter to eventually halt spacecraft. Three of its science Titan's upper atmosphere and has already been observed a discovered geysers of water- i c e expected lifespan, ceased to the point where fuel would soon we expected about our star and its expansion. instruments have minor ailments, descended under parachute to few times, will be further jetting from its surface. These function because of the decline freeze in the spacecraft’s the way it interacts with the but the impact on scientific the surface. The descent phase o b s e r ved during the extended geysers shoot out to a distance in power produced by its on- pipelines. space surrounding it,” said “It is with enormous affection observations is minimal. The lasted around 2 hours mission, in particular with the three times the diameter of board generators. Richard Marsden, ESA’s Ulysses that we bid farewell to Ulysses. spacecraft will have enough 27 minutes with a further 1 RADAR and VIMS instruments. Enceladus and feed particles into Ulysses has forever changed the Project Scientist and Mission It has been a story of propellant left after the extended hour 10 minutes on the surf a c e . O b s e r vations with these S a t u r n ’s most expansive ring. This Hurtling through space at an way scientists view the Sun and Manager. remarkable success and mission to potentially allow a Throughout this period data instruments, which at closest small moon, only one-tenth the average speed of 56 000 km/h, its effect on the surrounding collaboration,” added David third phase of operations. was collected from all approach to Titan have a size of Titan and one-seventh the Ulysses has travelled over 8600 space. Ulysses was the first “There will never be another Southwood, ESA’s Director of instruments providing a detailed resolution of 300–500 m, will size of Earth's moon, is a high- million km. The longevity of the mission to survey the mission like Ulysses. Many solar Science and Robotic Cassini’s mission was originally picture of Ti t a n ’s atmosphere be used to look for temporal priority target for the extended mission is testament to a creative environment in space above and missions have appeared on the Exploration. e scheduled to end in July 2008. and surf a c e . variability in this region. mission. e

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Ulysses Mission Ends in July Cassini Mission to Continue

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Cassini has returned data daily from Saturn’s system for almost four years, taking nearly 140 000 images and gathering information during 62 revolutions Cassini’s Stunning Photo Album around Saturn, 43 flybys of Titan and 12 close flybys of other icy moons. Here are just a few of the visual highlights from the last four years.

The tiny moon Janus backdropped by Saturn’s cloudtops The impact-pummeled Hyperion seen during a close approach in 2005 A composite of several infrared images of Titan, showing land features beneath the clouds The bright trailing hemisphere of Saturn’s moon Iapetus

A true-colour view of Saturn’s northern latitudes with the moon Mimas in the forground Saturn’s rings and stormy cloud tops viewed with infrared filters in April 2007 Taken with filters to approximate a human eyeview, this image shows Enceladus in the ring plane Close-up of Saturn’s sunlit rings, June 2007 (All images NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute)

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Ariane-5 ECA Flight V183 Duststorm in Middle East

Ariane-5 ECA flight V183 lifted off from Europe's Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, at 00:05 CEST on 13 June, on its mission to place two telecommunications satellites into geostationary transfer orbit. The payload comprised Skynet 5C - which will deliver secure communication links for UK government and military users - and Turksat 3A - which will provide telecommunication Envisat captures sand and dust blowing services and direct TV broadcasting northeast from the Arabian Peninsula for Turkey, Europe, the Middle across the Persian Gulf toward Iran East, North Africa and Central (visible at image top). This image was Asia. This third launch of the year, acquired on 1 July 2008 by Envisat’s followed by a fourth, V184 on 7 Medium Resolution Imaging Spectrometer July, keeps Europe’s Spaceport on (MERIS) instrument while working in full- target for the seven missions resolution mode to provide a spatial planned for 2008 resolution of 1.2 km

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Ariane-5 ECA Flight V183 Duststorm in Middle East

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Slovenia Signs Cooperation Agreement with ESA

An agreement on closer in the Chamber of Commerc e cooperation between ESA and and Industry. Slovenia was signed on 28 May, by René Oosterlinck, ESA Slovenia is the second recent Director of Legal Affairs and EU Member State to sign a External Relations, and Mojca Cooperation Agreement with Kucler Dolinar, the Slovenian ESA. Estonia did so in June Minister of Higher Education, 2007. The adoption of the Science and Technology. European Space Policy by both ESA and the EU confirms the In the ceremony at the Sneznik importance of ESA’s space Castle (east of Ljubljana), the activities for EU Member Prime Minister of Slovenia, States. Several other EU Janez Jansa, welcomed the ESA members have approached ESA delegation and confirmed the with a request to participate in support his Government is ESA’s activities. ready to give to this new René Oosterlinck (left), Mojca Kucler Dolinar and Prime Minister of Slovenia, Janez Jansa (centre) agreement. This Cooperation Agreement is a first step. It is expected that In May 2006, a Slovenian European Space Research & information with the State Slovenia will in a few years delegation led by Mr Peterle Technology Centre (ESTEC). S e c r e t a r y in the Ministry of become a European (former Slovenian Prime Higher Education, Mr Lesjak, Cooperating State, with an Minister and currently a As a follow up, an ESA and with many potential increased financial contribution Member of the European delegation went to Ljubljana in partners in the Josef Stefan to space activities. e Parliament) visited ESA’s F e b r u a ry 2007 to exchange Institute and with entrepreneurs

Czech Republic to Join ESA

The Agreement on the Czech eastern European countries. The During the first four-year period, States are together extending the R e p u b l i c ’s accession to the ESA Czech Republic signed such a the overall contribution to the boundaries of space even further Convention was signed on 8 July Cooperation Agreement with PECS by the Czech Republic to take in new countries and new in Prague, by Jean-Jacques ESA in 1996, requesting more amounted to approximately ambitions. Such ambitions are Dordain, Director General of ESA, specific collaboration. €12 million. This Czech firmly rooted in forty years of and Mirek Topolánek, Prime contribution goes towards projects success in space, thanks in Minister of the Czech Republic. In response, the ESA Council that come under various ESA particular to the continuous created the status of ‘European programmes: 50% on space investment by ESA Member The Czech Republic already has a Cooperating State’ in March science, 25% on space technology, States and to the increasing strong tradition of space 2001. The ECS was a new 22% on Earth observation and cooperation between the exploration. For example, status granted to European 3% on navigation. European Community and ESA. Vladimir Remek of Union Member States wishing The consensus reached by Czechoslovakia became the first to accede to the ESA The Czech Republic is now 29 European countries in support European astronaut when he Convention. ESA concluded an embarking on the ratification of the European Space Policy went into space in 1978. ECS Agreement with the Czech procedure that will make it a adopted in May last year also Republic in November 2003; it formal ESA Member State by the demonstrates that Europe and its Since the early 1990s, ESA has entered into force with the end of the year. citizens are prepared to play a negotiated and concluded frame- signing of the PECS (Plan for stronger role in space. e work cooperation agreements European Cooperating States) With the accession of the Czech with a number of central and Charter in November 2004. Republic, ESA and its Member

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Publications New issues

ESA’s Report to the 37th COSPAR Meeting, ESA Special Publications July 2008, Montreal, Canada (May 2008) Contractor Reports OMNI – Final Report (May 2007, Rev. 2) K. Fletcher (Ed.) Skyware Radio Systems GmbH, UK Proceedings of the 3rd International Non Contact Measurements of Membranes – ESA SP-1312 // 176 pp ESA CR(P)-4608 // CD-Rom Symposium on Formation Flying, Missions Summary Report (September 2007) Price: 40 Euro Price: 25 Euro and Technologies, 23-25 April 2008, CLS, Belgium Noordwijk, The Netherlands, (June 2008) ESA CR(P)-4604 // 35 pp Assessment of X-Band SAR Components, K. Fletcher (Ed.) Price: 10 Euro Technology Maturity and Performance – Final ESA SP-654 // CD-Rom Report Price: 60 Euro Study of the Potential of Sub-millimetre Alcatel Space, France Wave Observations for Precipitation Retrieval ESA CR(P)-4609 // CD-Rom – Final Report (June 2007) Price: 25 Euro CLS, Belgium ESA CR(P)-4605 // CD-Rom Artes 3 - Compact Ka-Band RF Front-End Publications Price: 25 Euro Using Ultra-Light Multi-Reflector Assembly – The documents listed here have Final Report (February 2007) Establishment of Cirrus Cloud Mission and Thales Alenia Space been issued since the last Instrument Requirements at Sub-Millimetre ESA CR(P)-4610 // CD-Rom publications announcement in the Wavelengths – Final Report (February 2007) Price: 25 Euro Sula Systems Ltd. ESA Bulletin. Requests for copies ESA CR(P)-4606 // CD-Rom Skynurse - Advanced Training in Nursing – should be made in accordance Price: 25 Euro Final Report (May 2007) Trastec Scpa, Italy with the Table and Order Form SkyWAN, System Family Extension SkyWAN ESA CR(P)-4611 // CD-Rom inside the back cover IP – Final Report (April 2008) Price: 25 Euro ND SatCom, Germany ESA CR(P)-4607 // CD-Rom Price: 25 Euro A full listing of ESA publications is available at www.esa.int/publications ESA Scientific & Technical

Proceedings of DASIA 2008 – Data Systems Memoranda in Aerospace, 27–30 May 2008, Palma de Transport Coefficients of Argon Plasma with Majorca, Spain, (August 2008) Electromagnetic Fields L. Ouwehand (Ed.) D. Giordano & K. Fletcher (Eds.) ESA SP-656 // CD-Rom ESA STR-254 // CD-Rom Price: 50 Euro Price: 50 Euro

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number 135 - august 2008

Member States Etats membres

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