ESA’s Proba-3 mission, design to create solar eclipses in space to study the Sun’s corona, has officially left European soil and is en route to its launch site in India. This dual-spacecraft mission depart from Redwire Space’s facility in Kruibeke, Belgium, to travel to the Satish Dhawan Space Centre near Chennai, where the final launch preparations are set to begin.
The mission’s objective is to enable extend observation of the Sun’s corona, something only briefly visible during natural eclipses on Earth, by creating an artificial eclipse in space.
Proba-3, a pioneering European Space Agency mission, is comprise of two spacecraft, the Occulter and the Coronagraph.
These satellites will achieve formation flying with a precision that allows one satellite to cast a shadow on the other, creating the eclipse effect needed for corona observation.
As per ESA Mission Manager Damien Galano, achieving this feat has require years of work to ensure the satellites can operate autonomously in formation with an accuracy of just one millimetre.
The mission aims to offer unprecedent insights into solar phenomena by capturing details views of the Sun’s outer atmosphere.
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The Proba-3 mission is schedule to launch aboard India’s PSLV-XL rocket on 4 December 2024.
This launch will place the spacecraft pair into a highly elliptical orbit, ranging from 600 km to 60,000 km above Earth.
Such an orbit is essential to allow the spacecraft’s formation flying to occur at altitudes where gravity’s pull is lessen, reducing fuel consumption.
After an initial setback with air freight arrangements, where the spacecraft’s batteries had to be ship separately, the mission is now back on schedule.
The Proba-3 mission has drawn on expertise from across 14 ESA Member States and Canada.
Led by Spain’s Sener and support by Airbus Defence and Space, the project has involve partners such as GMV and Spacebel, specialising in satellite navigation and software.
Key instruments include the ASPIICS corona-imaging device from Belgium’s Royal Observatory and the DARA radiometer from Switzerland’s Physical Meteorological Observatory, design to study solar energy output.
Final mission control operations will be conduct at ESA’s European Space Security and Education Centre in Redu, Belgium.
Rigorous simulations and training exercises are currently underway to prepare for Proba-3’s deployment and ongoing operations in space, marking a significant milestone in space-based solar observation.
