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ESA News
http://www.esa.int

22 October 2002
 
Happy birthday and congratulations Proba
========================================

It is exactly one year today since the launch of ESA's first small 
autonomous spacecraft, Proba; a year in which Proba, and the 
instruments on board, have successfully carried out all the tasks they 
have been set.

Frederic Teston, manager of the PROject for On-Board Autonomy which is 
better known as Proba, says "those responsible for Proba here at ESA 
are satisfied with the results so far, so much so that it has been 
decided to extend the mission for another year".

Proba's main achievement is that this small spacecraft -- it is just 
60x60x80 cm and looks as if it has been wrapped in blue and gold paper 
-- has shown that it is able to carry out many functions on its own. 
Its ability to carry out guidance, navigation, control, onboard 
scheduling and payload resources management by itself has 
significantly reduced the need for ground control.

During its first year in orbit this small gyro-less spacecraft has 
proven that it is able to achieve a high accuracy in attitude 
determination by using autonomous star trackers. Onboard Proba the 
ERC-32 SPARC, which is the space version of a commercial high-speed 
processor, has performed flawlessly. The Li-ion batteries, used for
the first time in a low-Earth orbit, have also performed according to 
specifications. 

But Proba is not just a pretty package, onboard it has six scientific 
instruments, all of which have performed successfully during the past 
12 months with the minimum of intervention from ground control.

CHRIS 

CHRIS, the Compact High Resolution Imaging Spectrometer, is providing 
important information on the Earth and its environment, and will be an 
invaluable tool in remote sensing during the extended mission.

HRC 

This black and white High Resolution Camera, helped by the 
spacecraft's ease of manoeuvre, has demonstrated that high-quality 
images can be taken by a spacecraft of this type.

DEBIE 

DEBIE, which stands for Debris In-Orbit Evaluator, is able to detect 
and measure the mass, speed and penetration power of space debris of 
less than one millimetre in size. Already it is providing statistical 
data on the distribution of debris in Sun-synchronous low-Earth orbits
where most satellites -- and space debris -- are found. 

SREM

The Space Radiation Environment Monitor (SREM) is measuring electron 
and proton fluxes, as well as total solar radiation doses. In-flight 
data have been compared with simulations and the results correlate the 
simulation approach. The other two instruments on board -- Smart 
Instrument Points (SIPs) and the Miniaturised Radiation Monitor (MRM) 
-- also measure radiation.

All the goals that Proba was set have been achieved at a relatively 
low cost, thanks to the innovative approach used in its development. 
Extensive use was made of commercial off-the-shelf equipment and 
units, together with automated software generation and computer 
simulations for development, verification and testing.

You can learn more about Proba and its instruments, and view some of 
the CHRIS and HRC images, at our new website
     http://www.esa.int/export/esaMI/Proba_web_site/index.html

Related news

* PROBA images available on web
  http://www.esa.int/export/esaCP/ESAAGZJE43D_index_0.html
* Wanted: instruments for testing on next Proba mission
  http://www.esa.int/export/esaCP/ESAAU9OED2D_Benefits_0.html
* Pinpoint accuracy with the Proba camera
  http://www.esa.int/export/esaCP/ESAX8SG18ZC_index_0.html
* First PROBA pictures promise wealth of environmental data
  http://www.esa.int/export/esaSA/ESAOJ8NSRWC_earth_0.html
* Meet CHRIS -- the little camera that takes big pictures
  http://www.esa.int/export/esaCP/ESAIZ8NSRWC_UnitedKingdom_0.html
* Indian launch success for European micro-satellite
  http://www.esa.int/export/esaCP/ESAIQLZK0TC_index_0.html
* Micro-satellite will hook into Internet
  http://www.esa.int/export/esaCP/ESA0YJJUWSC_index_0.html

Related links

* Proba
  http://www.esa.int/export/esaMI/Proba_web_site/index.html
* ESTEC/Proba Unit
  http://www.estec.esa.nl/pr/activities/control-data.php3
* Redu ground station
  http://www.esoc.esa.de/pr/stations/redu.php3
* ESA's space weather site
  http://www.estec.esa.nl/wmwww/spweather/
* CHRIS instrument
  http://www.chris-proba.org.uk
* SREM instrument
  http://srem.web.psi.ch/html/srem_home.shtml

Proba Paper Model

* Download the PDF file (176KB)
  http://ravel.esrin.esa.it/docs/Proba_Paper_Model.pdf

Technical Information:

Instrument: Compact High Resolution Imaging Spectrometer
            (CHRIS)
Date of Acquisition: 30-07-2002
Instrument Features: 3 bands (466nm, 543nm, 641nm) image,
                     15 m spatial resolution, 768x1010 pixels 

Credits: ESA

Technical Information:

Instrument: High Resolution Camera (HRC)
Date of Acquisition: 06-10-2002
Instrument Features: panchromatic image, 5 m spatial
                     resolution, 1000x1000 pixels 

Credits: ESA

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