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The European Space Agency (ESA) has announced the launch of its groundbreaking Proba-3 mission aboard ISRO’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre on December 4, 2024.
Highlights of Proba-3 Mission:
1. World’s First Precision Formation Flying Mission: Proba-3 consists of two satellites flying together in a highly precise formation, simulating a single rigid structure in space. The satellites will maintain a fixed separation of approximately 150 meters, demonstrating advanced formation flying and rendezvous technologies.
2. Science and Technology Objectives: The mission will create artificial solar eclipses on demand by one satellite casting its shadow on the other. This enables continuous observation of the Sun’s coronal atmosphere for up to six hours during each 19-hour orbit. Such observations are typically only possible during total solar eclipses on Earth, offering scientists brief glimpses lasting just a few minutes.
3. Unique Solar Science Experiment: The mission aims to study the Sun’s enigmatic corona, which is significantly hotter than the Sun’s surface and serves as the origin of space weather. Instruments aboard Proba-3 will observe the solar rim more closely than ever before, providing critical insights into solar activity and its effects on space weather.
ESA’s Vision for Proba-3:
1. Technological Leap: Proba-3 is a testbed for future precision formation flying missions, which could play a crucial role in areas like high-resolution Earth observation, deep-space exploration, and inter-satellite communication.
2. Extended Scientific Applications: By unlocking the ability to conduct long-duration, detailed solar observations, the mission aims to enhance our understanding of the Sun-Earth relationship and space weather’s impact on satellites and terrestrial systems.
- This launch represents a significant milestone in international space collaboration, combining ESA’s advanced technologies with ISRO’s reliable PSLV platform. Proba-3 is set to open new frontiers in both space science and spacecraft operations.
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