All posts tagged: ESA

ESA’s Solar Eclipse-Making Proba-3 Mmssion Head to its Launch Site in India

ESA’s Solar Eclipse-Making Proba-3 Mmssion Head to its Launch Site in India

Published by Webster

ESA’s Proba-3 mission, designed 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 departed 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 extended observation of the Sun’s corona—something only briefly visible during natural eclipses on Earth—by creating an artificial eclipse in space. Breakthrough Formation Flying for Solar Study Proba-3, a pioneering European Space Agency mission, is comprised 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. According to ESA Mission Manager Damien Galano, achieving this feat has required years of work to ensure the satellites can operate autonomously in formation with an accuracy of just one millimetre. The mission aims to offer unprecedented insights …

ESA To Launch DRACO Satellite in 2027 to Study Satellite Reentry Disintegration

Published by Webster

The European Space Agency (ESA) is preparing to launch a unique satellite in 2027, designed specifically to study how satellites break apart upon reentry into Earth’s atmosphere. This mission, named DRACO (Destructive Reentry Assessment Container Object), will be an important step in ESA’s effort to develop technology that limits the creation of space debris. ESA has awarded the contract to Deimos, a European technology company, to build this spacecraft, which will provide invaluable data as it breaks apart during its reentry. This data will help scientists better understand satellite disintegration and its environmental impact. Understanding Satellite Breakup The goal of the DRACO mission is to collect data on how satellites disintegrate during reentry. By studying this, researchers aim to design future satellites that will fully burn up during reentry, reducing the risk of debris reaching the Earth’s surface. The mission will also examine how spacecraft reentry affects the atmosphere, including how different materials interact with it and what byproducts are produced. Innovative DRACO Design At 200 kilograms, DRACO will be about the size of a …