Proba-3 satellite: Seeing in the dark
Friday, 25 August 2023 16:14
One of the precision formation flying Proba-3 satellites as seen from the other during ground testing. The pair will fly in orbit relative to one another down to millimeter scale precision, but in order to do this must keep continuous track of each other in both sunlight and darkness.
To achieve this, Proba-3 combines vision-based detection, as tested here, with radio frequency links, satellite navigation and laser ranging.
The Visual-Based Sensor will be used when the satellites are closer than 250 m to each other. LEDs aboard Proba-3's Coronagraph satellite—seen in the animation below—will be detected by a set of cameras on the other Occulter satellite, appearing as pattens of light in the dark.
Finally, for maximum precision, the Occulter will shine a laser at a retro-reflector mounted on the Coronagraph satellite.
Proba-3 will demonstrate formation flying in the context of a large-scale science experiment. The two satellites will together form a 144-m long solar coronagraph to study the sun's faint corona closer to the solar rim than has ever before been achieved.
Sedaro wins Space Force contract to develop spacecraft digital twins
Friday, 25 August 2023 15:48
Liftoff for Crew-7 with Andreas Mogensen
Friday, 25 August 2023 13:17
Video:
00:05:52
On 26 August 2023, at 09:27 CEST (08:27 BST), Crew-7 aboard the Crew Dragon spacecraft Endurance embarked on a journey to the International Space Station. Watch the full coverage of their launch from pad 39A at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, USA.
Andreas serves as pilot and has become the first European to take that role. He is sitting next to Crew-7's commander and NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli. Andreas is responsible for the spacecraft’s performance and systems. Accompanying them are mission specialists Satoshi Furukawa from JAXA and Konstantin Borisov from Roscomos.
Andreas’s Huginn mission officially begins when Endurance docks with
Big constellations no longer necessarily mean small satellites
Friday, 25 August 2023 13:03
Defense Innovation Unit to sponsor a rapid response space mission
Friday, 25 August 2023 13:00
Week in images: 21-25 August 2023
Friday, 25 August 2023 12:05
Week in images: 21-25 August 2023
Discover our week through the lens
Launch of 4 astronauts to space station bumped to Saturday
Friday, 25 August 2023 06:50
NASA and SpaceX halted the countdown late Thursday for the launch of four astronauts to the International Space Station.
Mission managers rescheduled the liftoff for early Saturday morning, giving them an extra 24 hours to close out lingering issues, officials said. Nearly ideal weather was expected.
The four astronauts, representing four countries, had not yet headed to the SpaceX Falcon rocket awaiting them on the pad.
They are expected to spend six months at the space station, replacing four astronauts who have been there for half a year.
What is ESA? THIS is ESA
Friday, 25 August 2023 06:00
What is ESA? THIS is ESA
Explore this interactive illustrated guide to what ESA is and what we do - available in all ESA Member State langauges
Proba-3: seeing in the dark
Friday, 25 August 2023 05:50
Image:
Proba-3: seeing in the dark 
Space Force to seek industry ideas for rapid deployment of satellites
Thursday, 24 August 2023 20:51
Satellite built as low-cost way to reduce space junk reenters atmosphere years early
Thursday, 24 August 2023 18:09
SBUDNIC, built by an academically diverse team of students, was confirmed to have successfully reentered Earth's atmosphere in August, demonstrating a practical, low-cost method to cut down on space debris.
When it comes to space satellites, getting the math wrong can be catastrophic for an object in orbit, potentially leading to its abrupt or fiery demise. In this case, however, the fiery end was cause for celebration.
About five years ahead of schedule, a small cube satellite designed and built by Brown University students to demonstrate a practical, low-cost method to cut down on space debris reentered Earth's atmosphere sometime on Tuesday, Aug.