DOCSLIB.ORG

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

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
SPACE for EUROPE Nedews Inu-Imuayor Dnalreztiws Edèus United Kingdom Suisse ESA Bulletin 135 - August 2008 August - 135 Bulletin ESA BulletinCov134 6/5/08 12:14 PM Page 1 www.esa.int 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 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 Venus_135.qxd 30/7/08 14:08 Page 2 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 esa bulletin 135 - august 2008 3 Venus_135.qxd 30/7/08 14:08 Page 2 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 esa bulletin 135 - august 2008 3 Venus_135.qxd 30/7/08 14:08 Page 4 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.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Jules Verne ATV Launch Approaching 11 February 2008
    Jules Verne ATV launch approaching 11 February 2008 will carry up to 9 tonnes of cargo to the station as it orbits 400 km above the Earth. Equipped with its own propulsion and navigation systems, the ATV is a multi-functional spacecraft, combining the fully automatic capabilities of an unmanned vehicle with the safety requirements of a crewed vehicle . Its mission in space will resemble that, on the ground, of a truck (the ATV) delivering goods and services to a research establishment (the space station). A new-generation high-precision navigation system will guide the ATV on a rendezvous trajectory towards the station. In early April, Jules Verne will automatically dock with the station’s Russian Preview of the maiden launch and docking of ESA's Jules Verne ATV. Jules Verne will be lifted into space on Service Module, following a number of specific board an Ariane 5 launch vehicle. Credits: ESA - D. operations and manoeuvres (on 'Demonstration Ducros Days') to show that the vehicle is performing as planned in nominal and contingency situations. It will remain there as a pressurised and integral After the successful launch of ESA’s Columbus part of the station for up to six months until a laboratory aboard Space Shuttle Atlantis on controlled re-entry into the Earth’s atmosphere Thursday (7 February), it is now time to focus on takes place, during which it will burn up and, in the the next imminent milestone for ESA: the launch of process, dispose of 6.3 tonnes of waste material no Jules Verne, the first Automated Transfer Vehicle longer needed on the station.
    [Show full text]
  • Trace Contaminant Control During the International Space Station's On
    https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=20170012333 2019-08-30T16:48:33+00:00Z National Aeronautics and NASA/TP—2017–219689 Space Administration IS02 George C. Marshall Space Flight Center Huntsville, Alabama 35812 Trace Contaminant Control During the International Space Station’s On-Orbit Assembly and Outfitting J.L. Perry Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Alabama October 2017 The NASA STI Program…in Profile Since its founding, NASA has been dedicated to the • CONFERENCE PUBLICATION. Collected advancement of aeronautics and space science. The papers from scientific and technical conferences, NASA Scientific and Technical Information (STI) symposia, seminars, or other meetings sponsored Program Office plays a key part in helping NASA or cosponsored by NASA. maintain this important role. • SPECIAL PUBLICATION. Scientific, technical, The NASA STI Program Office is operated by or historical information from NASA programs, Langley Research Center, the lead center for projects, and mission, often concerned with NASA’s scientific and technical information. The subjects having substantial public interest. NASA STI Program Office provides access to the NASA STI Database, the largest collection of • TECHNICAL TRANSLATION. aeronautical and space science STI in the world. English-language translations of foreign The Program Office is also NASA’s institutional scientific and technical material pertinent to mechanism for disseminating the results of its NASA’s mission. research and development activities. These results are published by NASA in the NASA STI Report Specialized services that complement the STI Series, which includes the following report types: Program Office’s diverse offerings include creating custom thesauri, building customized databases, • TECHNICAL PUBLICATION. Reports of organizing and publishing research results…even completed research or a major significant providing videos.
    [Show full text]
  • CEAS Quarterly Bulletin Talented Engineers Are Needed
    The Quarterly Bulletin of the COUNCIL OF EUROPEAN AEROSPACE SOCIETIES 3AF– AIAE– AIDAA– DGLR– FSAE– FTF– HAES– NVvL– RAeS– SVFW–TsAGI • GENERAL • AERONAUTICS • SPACE • Issue 2 – 2009 • June • Editorial INVESTING IN YOUTH The future of Europe is in the hands of its youth: this is a basic truth. However, surprisingly, while we are full in course of the election campaign for the renewal of the European Parliament, we hear almost nothing about education and culture, and we see no proposals from the candidates on how to prepare the students and young professionals to live in an increasingly integrated Europe. The question is a very broad and difficult one, due to the large number of Member States and the diversity of languages and cultures; but this is all the more reason to concentrate great efforts on it. In the aerospace sector, the projects, more and more complex, are developed across several national borders and include the highest technologies. So, to overcome the Jean-Pierre Sanfourche numerous challenges which confront us in a fierce world-wide aerospace market, Editor-in-Chief, CEAS Quarterly Bulletin talented engineers are needed. Unfortunately, in the past two or three decades within Europe, there have been clear indications that the most brilliant students pre- fer careers in business and finance to those in science, technology and engineering. Action is clearly necessary to reverse this trend by taking the measures that will CONTENTS allow us to attract and then retain the best talent in the air and space activities. The GENERAL Pages organising Committee of the upcoming CEAS2009 Air & Space Conference in Manchester has taken an important step in this direction by including in the • The ASD President’s message 2 Conference agenda the launch of a new European Young Aerospace Professional • The life of the CEAS 4 (EYAP) forum.
    [Show full text]
  • Pete Aldridge Well, Good Afternoon, Ladies and Gentlemen, and Welcome to the Fifth and Final Public Hearing of the President’S Commission on Moon, Mars, and Beyond
    The President’s Commission on Implementation of United States Space Exploration Policy PUBLIC HEARING Asia Society 725 Park Avenue New York, NY Monday, May 3, and Tuesday, May 4, 2004 Pete Aldridge Well, good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the fifth and final public hearing of the President’s Commission on Moon, Mars, and Beyond. I think I can speak for everyone here when I say that the time period since this Commission was appointed and asked to produce a report has elapsed at the speed of light. At least it seems that way. Since February, we’ve heard testimonies from a broad range of space experts, the Mars rovers have won an expanded audience of space enthusiasts, and a renewed interest in space science has surfaced, calling for a new generation of space educators. In less than a month, we will present our findings to the White House. The Commission is here to explore ways to achieve the President’s vision of going back to the Moon and on to Mars and beyond. We have listened and talked to experts at four previous hearings—in Washington, D.C.; Dayton, Ohio; Atlanta, Georgia; and San Francisco, California—and talked among ourselves and we realize that this vision produces a focus not just for NASA but a focus that can revitalize US space capability and have a significant impact on our nation’s industrial base, and academia, and the quality of life for all Americans. As you can see from our agenda, we’re talking with those experts from many, many disciplines, including those outside the traditional aerospace arena.
    [Show full text]
  • A Clearer Final Frontier of the Sentinel Family of Earth-Monitoring Satellites
    COMMENT BOOKS & ARTS Station. His examination of other astro- nomical and exploration cooperation efforts is somewhat cursory, and there are small errors. The Rosetta mission of the Euro- pean Space Agency (ESA), for instance, is ROGER HARRIS/SPL not a solar mission, but instead will rendez- vous with and observe a comet. The lunar probe Chandrayaan-1 was a collaboration between India, ESA, NASA and Bulgaria; and unmentioned is the ground-breaking Double Star Sino-European joint mission. Failures in cooperation offer many lessons, and Moltz looks at the International Solar Polar Mission almost 25 years ago, as well as the United States’ 2012 pull-out from collaboration with ESA on Mars explora- tion. However, he misses the pivotal case of the International Gamma-Ray Laboratory (INTEGRAL), launched in 2002, the absence of expected levels of US support for which led to the first close ESA Science Programme cooperation with Russia. The distinction between cooperation and competition had, however, emerged decades before, with US refusal to launch the Franco-German com- munications satellite Symphonie. Europe learnt that it had to go it alone in using space for commercial or near-to-market purposes. Satellite deployment must be regulated to keep space usable and safe. Moltz accepts that space is important to commerce, but readers might query whether SPACE POLICY he sees how this may drive regulation. The European Union, the largest economic grouping in the world, is this year launching multiple spacecraft; these include members A clearer final frontier of the Sentinel family of Earth-monitoring satellites. The move is economic, and the use David Southwood finds that a study on safeguarding of space is evolving and increasingly focused space is shorter on cooperation than conflict.
    [Show full text]
  • ESTRACK Facilities Manual (EFM) Issue 1 Revision 1 - 19/09/2008 S DOPS-ESTR-OPS-MAN-1001-OPS-ONN 2Page Ii of Ii
    fDOCUMENT document title/ titre du document ESA TRACKING STATIONS (ESTRACK) FACILITIES MANUAL (EFM) prepared by/préparé par Peter Müller reference/réference DOPS-ESTR-OPS-MAN-1001-OPS-ONN issue/édition 1 revision/révision 1 date of issue/date d’édition 19/09/2008 status/état Approved/Applicable Document type/type de document SSM Distribution/distribution see next page a ESOC DOPS-ESTR-OPS-MAN-1001- OPS-ONN EFM Issue 1 Rev 1 European Space Operations Centre - Robert-Bosch-Strasse 5, 64293 Darmstadt - Germany Final 2008-09-19.doc Tel. (49) 615190-0 - Fax (49) 615190 495 www.esa.int ESTRACK Facilities Manual (EFM) issue 1 revision 1 - 19/09/2008 s DOPS-ESTR-OPS-MAN-1001-OPS-ONN 2page ii of ii Distribution/distribution D/EOP D/EUI D/HME D/LAU D/SCI EOP-B EUI-A HME-A LAU-P SCI-A EOP-C EUI-AC HME-AA LAU-PA SCI-AI EOP-E EUI-AH HME-AT LAU-PV SCI-AM EOP-S EUI-C HME-AM LAU-PQ SCI-AP EOP-SC EUI-N HME-AP LAU-PT SCI-AT EOP-SE EUI-NA HME-AS LAU-E SCI-C EOP-SM EUI-NC HME-G LAU-EK SCI-CA EOP-SF EUI-NE HME-GA LAU-ER SCI-CC EOP-SA EUI-NG HME-GP LAU-EY SCI-CI EOP-P EUI-P HME-GO LAU-S SCI-CM EOP-PM EUI-S HME-GS LAU-SF SCI-CS EOP-PI EUI-SI HME-H LAU-SN SCI-M EOP-PE EUI-T HME-HS LAU-SP SCI-MM EOP-PA EUI-TA HME-HF LAU-CO SCI-MR EOP-PC EUI-TC HME-HT SCI-S EOP-PG EUI-TL HME-HP SCI-SA EOP-PL EUI-TM HME-HM SCI-SM EOP-PR EUI-TP HME-M SCI-SD EOP-PS EUI-TS HME-MA SCI-SO EOP-PT EUI-TT HME-MP SCI-P EOP-PW EUI-W HME-ME SCI-PB EOP-PY HME-MC SCI-PD EOP-G HME-MF SCI-PE EOP-GC HME-MS SCI-PJ EOP-GM HME-MH SCI-PL EOP-GS HME-E SCI-PN EOP-GF HME-I SCI-PP EOP-GU HME-CO SCI-PR
    [Show full text]
  • "I Think You Need a Pioneering Spirit in Society, a Frontier Spirit."
    The Profile "I think you need a pioneering spirit in society, a frontier spirit." “There is a limit to how far I should, Professor David Southwood is the personally, because I feel like I am a general Director of Science in ESA, a post he has advancing on a wide front, and there is nothing that tells me that I should advance first on one front. I had for almost two years. During these have got to advance on many fronts. As a result, the two years he has made his mark through organised way to do it, like a general, is to advance the Cosmic Vision, engaging in finding new your forces on one front, make sure they have got the resources and backup, and then advance on other ways to explore space within ESA. fronts, consolidating, and so on. In other words, we cannot advance on all fronts at the same time. But by Nordic Space Activities met David having a plan we can advance on all fronts in time. I think there is nothing that can tell me there is one Southwood at ESTEC early this April, branch of science in need of Europe’s attention and asked him: entirely. Europe is too big a collection of counties to simply say it does only one kind of space science. It Today you talked about the Cosmic Vision, the should cover the frontier.” new way to go for European space research. Are the large resources that have been used for space The space research budgets have steadily research necessary to secure the future development decreased the last few years.
    [Show full text]
  • A Launch for the International Space Station
    A launch for the International Space Station For its first mission of the year, Arianespace will launch the first Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV), dubbed “Jules Verne”, for the European Space Agency (ESA). Right from this first launch, the ATV will play a vital role in bringing supplies to the International Space Station (ISS). Weighing more than 20 tons, this will be by far the heaviest payload ever launched by Ariane 5. An Ariane 5 ES will inject the Jules Verne ATV into a circular orbit at an altitude of 260 kilometers, inclined 51.6 degre e s . With this launch, Ariane 5 further expands its array of missions, ranging fro m scientific spacecraft in special orbits to commercial launches into geostationary orbit. The ATV is designed to bring supplies to the ISS (water, air, food, propellants for the Russian section, spare parts, experimental hard w a re, etc.), and to reboost the ISS into its nominal orbit. The ISS now weighs more than 240 metric tons, including the recently attached European labora t o r y, Columbus. After being docked to the ISS for up to six months, the ATV will be loaded with waste items by the astronauts, and sent back down. After separating from the launch vehicle, the ATV will be autonomous, using its own systems for energy (batteries and four large solar panels) and guidance (GPS, star t racker), in liaison with the control center in Toulouse. During final approach, an optical navigation system will guide the ATV to its rendezvous with the Space Station, w h e re it will automatically dock several days after launch.
    [Show full text]
  • Huygens Landing Site to Be Named After Hubert Curien 5 March 2007
    Huygens landing site to be named after Hubert Curien 5 March 2007 As of 14 March, an epic space mission and one of had to decide how to build a solid space science the founding fathers of the European space programme and ensure that it would be financially endeavour will be forever linked. sustainable in the long term." ESA, the international Committee for Space "ESA's present science programme, Cosmic Vision, Research (COSPAR) and NASA have decided to draws on the heritage left by Hubert Curien", said honour Professor Hubert Curien’s contribution to Professor David Southwood, ESA's current Director European space by naming the Huygens landing of Science. "He encouraged cooperation between site on Saturn’s largest moon, Titan, after him. nations in the belief that space research is The naming ceremony for the Huygens landing fundamental to the progress and welfare of a site, which will be known as the "Hubert Curien knowledge-based society like ours. He also Memorial Station", will be held at ESA’s promoted the concept of long-term planning", he Headquarters on 14 March, in the presence of continued. "It would seem almost inconceivable ESA Council delegates and of Professor Curien’s today to initiate any space venture without such wife, Mrs Perrine Curien, and one of their sons. pillar concepts in mind". Media interested in attending are invited to submit the reply form below. "The role played by Hubert Curien in creating a European space dimension, with all its various Huygens' landing on Saturn’s largest moon in facets, has been absolutely essential", said Jean- January 2005 represented one of the greatest Jacques Dordain, ESA Director General.
    [Show full text]
  • Does Methane Flow on Titan?
    Planetary science Does methane Scientists are eager to prove that the meandering river valleys and braided streambeds seen on Saturn’s largest moon carry liquid methane to its vast lakes. by Robert Zimmerman flow onTITAN? The Huygens probe captured ine years ago, Europe’s Huy- new world,” raved Jean-Jacques Dordain, theorized that methane might be able to Now, nearly a decade later, planetary Before the two probes this 360° panorama of Titan’s surface from an altitude of 6 gens probe dropped through ESA’s director general. flow on Titan like water does on Earth. scientists remain as excited and baffled Dutch astronomer Christiaan Huygens miles (10 kilometers) as it de- the atmosphere of Saturn’s “I’m shocked! It’s remarkable!” Once they got close enough to get a good by Titan as they did before Huygens discovered Titan in 1655. For centuries, scended through the saturnian moon Titan and landed on enthused Carolyn Porco, leader of the look, the thinking went, probes might arrived. In the years since, the Cassini scientists thought this moon was the moon’s atmosphere January the surface. Planetary scien- imaging team for NASA’s Cassini space- detect methane rainstorms feeding riv- spacecraft repeatedly has flown past solar system’s largest. In the mid-20th 14, 2005. Dark drainage chan- nels in the brighter highland Ntists reacted with unbridled joy to the craft, which delivered Huygens to Titan ers, lakes, and even oceans on that cold this giant moon, detecting what look century, however, observations revealed terrain appear to feed into a mission’s success.
    [Show full text]
  • ESA at Venus!
    Science ESA at Venus! At 07:17 UT (09:17 CEST) on 11 April experiencing the hot, dynamic environment the whole disc of Venus was fully visible 2006, the Venus Express spacecraft fired of Venus,” said Dr Hakan Svedhem, Venus to the instruments. Such opportunities its main engine to enter orbit around Express Project Scientist. “We will see will not occur again during the nominal Earth’s sister planet, making ESA the first much more detail at an unprecedented mission, starting on 4 June 2006, because space agency to have vehicles orbiting level because we will have over 100 times the range of distances to the planet will the Moon, Mars and Venus at the same better resolution as we get closer to Venus, be much smaller. time. and we expect to see these spiral structures A series of further engine and thruster With this latest success, the Agency has evolve very quickly.” burns gradually reduced the apocentre added another celestial body to its range The initial, low-resolution images were during the following 16 orbital loops, of targets in the Solar System. ESA is taken from a distance of 206 452 km from bringing Venus Express to its operational operating Mars Express around Mars and the planet, and yet still caught the 24-hour polar orbit at an altitude of SMART-1 around the Moon, and is a scientists’ attention, particularly with the 66 000 km. From this vantage point, the partner on the Cassini orbiter circling surprisingly clear structures and spacecraft will conduct in-depth Saturn. ESA also has the Rosetta unexpected detail shown in the VIRTIS observations of the structure, chemistry spacecraft en route to Comet 67P/ spectrometer images.
    [Show full text]
  • Guidance, Navigation and Control System for Autonomous Proximity Operations and Docking of Spacecraft
    Scholars' Mine Doctoral Dissertations Student Theses and Dissertations Summer 2009 Guidance, navigation and control system for autonomous proximity operations and docking of spacecraft Daero Lee Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarsmine.mst.edu/doctoral_dissertations Part of the Aerospace Engineering Commons Department: Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Recommended Citation Lee, Daero, "Guidance, navigation and control system for autonomous proximity operations and docking of spacecraft" (2009). Doctoral Dissertations. 1942. https://scholarsmine.mst.edu/doctoral_dissertations/1942 This thesis is brought to you by Scholars' Mine, a service of the Missouri S&T Library and Learning Resources. This work is protected by U. S. Copyright Law. Unauthorized use including reproduction for redistribution requires the permission of the copyright holder. For more information, please contact [email protected]. GUIDANCE, NAVIGATION AND CONTROL SYSTEM FOR AUTONOMOUS PROXIMITY OPERATIONS AND DOCKING OF SPACECRAFT by DAERO LEE A DISSERTATION Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of the MISSOURI UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in AEROSPACE ENGINEERING 2009 Approved by Henry Pernicka, Advisor Jagannathan Sarangapani Ashok Midha Robert G. Landers Cihan H Dagli 2009 DAERO LEE All Rights Reserved iii ABSTRACT This study develops an integrated guidance, navigation and control system for use in autonomous proximity operations and docking of spacecraft. A new approach strategy is proposed based on a modified system developed for use with the International Space Station. It is composed of three “V-bar hops” in the closing transfer phase, two periods of stationkeeping and a “straight line V-bar” approach to the docking port.
    [Show full text]