The double-satellite Proba-3 stack and their upper stage were encapsulated within their launcher fairing on 29 November. The last red tag and green tag items were removed/installed and the team took a final look at their mission with their own eyes. Proba-3 is due to launch on a PSLV-XL launcher at the SHAR base of the Indian Space Research Organisation, ISRO, on 4 December.

ESA’s twin Proba-3 platforms will perform precise formation flying down to a single millimetre, as if they were one single giant spacecraft. To demonstrate their degree of control, the pair will produce artificial solar eclipses in orbit, giving prolonged views of the Sun’s ghostly surrounding atmosphere, the corona.

Follow the launch campaign on our Proba-3 blog.