SiberianTiger
News Sifter
- Joined
- Feb 13, 2008
- Messages
- 5,398
- Reaction score
- 8
- Points
- 0
- Location
- Khimki
- Website
- tigerofsiberia.livejournal.com
What language name Tiis is from?
Launch News Galileo from Kourou atop Soyuz 2-1b October 21st 2011
- Thread starter IronRain
- Start date
SiberianTiger
News Sifter
- Joined
- Feb 13, 2008
- Messages
- 5,398
- Reaction score
- 8
- Points
- 0
- Location
- Khimki
- Website
- tigerofsiberia.livejournal.com
Found that:
http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/newsroom/cf/itemlongdetail.cfm?item_id=5284〈=it&tpa=0&displayType=news
Who is Natalia then? This sounds as a very common Russian female name.
All I can find is that she's a 9-year-old Bulgarian.
N_Molson
Addon Developer
Successful debut for Soyuz rocket in French Guiana
Soyuz delivers Galileo navigation satellites to orbit
BY STEPHEN CLARK
SPACEFLIGHT NOW
Posted: October 21, 2011
Launching from the Amazon jungle into the void of space Friday, a Russian Soyuz rocket inaugurated a new launch base and kicked off assembly of a $7.3 billion fleet of navigation satellites, fulfilling a decade of tough diplomatic negotiations and back-breaking construction in the granite bedrock of French Guiana.
Credit: Stephane Corvaja/ESA
With orange flames spewing from 32 rocket engine nozzles, the 151-foot-tall Soyuz 2-1b rocket swiftly rose from the launch pad in a rain shower at 1030 GMT (6:30 a.m. EDT; 7:30 a.m. local time).
The kerosene-burning Soyuz jettisoned four strap-on boosters less than two minutes after liftoff, leaving the empty rockets to fall in the Atlantic Ocean. Flying with a modernized digital control system, the Soyuz core stage and third stage accelerated the rocket to nearly orbital velocity in approximately nine minutes.
The rocket's Fregat-MT upper stage, modified to carry extra propellant, ignited for 13 minutes to propel the mission's payloads into an oval-shaped transfer orbit.
Another Fregat engine firing three hours later delivered two 1,543-pound Galileo satellites into a circular orbit about 14,400 miles above Earth. A few minutes later, the spacecraft were released from a specially-built dispenser to begin their missions.
A European Space Agency spokesperson confirmed both satellites were functioning and had deployed their solar panels.
"This launch represents a lot for Europe: we have placed in orbit the first two satellites of Galileo, a system that will position our continent as a world-class player in the strategic domain of satellite navigation, a domain with huge economic perspectives," said Jean-Jacques Dordain, ESA's director general.
"Moreover, this historic first launch of a genuine European system like Galileo was performed by the legendary Russian launcher that was used for Sputnik and Yuri Gagarin, a launcher that will, from now on, lift off from Europe's spaceport," Dordain said.
The Galileo satellites will conduct maneuvers every 12 hours, alternating between each spacecraft, for the next two weeks to reach their test positions. Three months from launch, controllers will finish their testing of the spacecraft and the satellites will produce their first navigation signals, according to Claude Audouy, operations director at the CNES, or French space agency, control center in Toulouse.
Credit: Stephane Corvaja/ESA
The French control center and the European Space Operations Center in Darmstadt, Germany, will oversee the early maneuvers and testing of the Galileo satellites, then control will be handed to routine operations center managed by the German Aerospace Center near Munich.
Control of the Galileo navigation payloads on-board each satellite will be managed from Fucino, Italy.
Officially dubbed Galileo IOV, the first phase of the European Union's Galileo navigation program is charged with verifying the satellites and navigation instruments work. Once that's complete, the IOV satellites will be transitioned into the operational fleet, which will ultimately reach 30 spacecraft.
"IOV means validation in orbit," said Didier Faivre, ESA's director of navigation. "Why validation in orbit? Well, because before we deploy an entire constellation we want to check it out with a mini-constellation."
Two more IOV satellites will be launched by the Soyuz rocket next summer, then 14 more operational satellites are on contract with OHB System AG of Bremen, Germany.
A team of expatriated Russian engineers working under French oversight prepared the Soyuz rocket for launch from French Guiana, a remote French territory sandwiched between Brazil and Suriname.
The launch was doubly important for Europe, which hopes to exploit the Soyuz for commercial and institutional missions. For communications satellites bound for geosynchronous orbit, launching the Soyuz from French Guiana almost doubles its performance over flights from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
That's because the Guiana Space Center lies at about 5 degrees north latitude, taking advantage of Earth's faster spin near the equator. The Baikonur Cosmodrome is at 46 degrees north latitude.
Launching from the Guiana Space Center also gives Europe more control over the Soyuz program, although Russian contractors and the Russian space agency still control launch operations and direct assembly of the rocket.
The Guiana Space Center, known by its French acronym CSG, is funded by the European Space Agency and CNES, the French national space agency.
Artist's concept of the Galileo validation satellites in orbit. Credit: ESA
The crucial payload bolted atop the Soyuz rocket was the other source of Europe's interest. The launcher delivered the first two operational satellites of the European Union's Galileo navigation program into orbit more than 14,000 miles above Earth.
Now estimated to cost $7.2 billion to complete, the Galileo program has a frustratingly long list of delays and cost overruns, but the constellation is finally on the verge of reality.
Built by Thales Alenia Space of Italy, the 1,543-pound satellites are called in-orbit validation platforms. Two more identical spacecraft will be lofted next year on another Soyuz rocket to help verify the navigation instruments aboard the satellites.
EADS Astrium of Germany holds overall responsibility for the satellites, but Thales was tapped to assemble the spacecraft in Italy.
"Their platform is simple, but their payload is highly sophisticated," Faivre said.
The payload includes ultra-precise atomic and rubidium clocks accurate to within one second over three million years.
The construction of 14 additional satellites, called full operational capability spacecraft, has been authorized by the European Commission, the EU's executive branch.
Antonio Tajani, the European Commission's vice president for industry and entrepreneurship, said a tender for between six and eight more Galileo satellites will reach a conclusion Feb. 1, when a winning contractor will be announced.
ESA acts as prime contractor for the Galileo program on behalf of the European Commission.
Soyuz delivers Galileo navigation satellites to orbit
BY STEPHEN CLARK
SPACEFLIGHT NOW
Posted: October 21, 2011
Launching from the Amazon jungle into the void of space Friday, a Russian Soyuz rocket inaugurated a new launch base and kicked off assembly of a $7.3 billion fleet of navigation satellites, fulfilling a decade of tough diplomatic negotiations and back-breaking construction in the granite bedrock of French Guiana.
Credit: Stephane Corvaja/ESA
With orange flames spewing from 32 rocket engine nozzles, the 151-foot-tall Soyuz 2-1b rocket swiftly rose from the launch pad in a rain shower at 1030 GMT (6:30 a.m. EDT; 7:30 a.m. local time).
The kerosene-burning Soyuz jettisoned four strap-on boosters less than two minutes after liftoff, leaving the empty rockets to fall in the Atlantic Ocean. Flying with a modernized digital control system, the Soyuz core stage and third stage accelerated the rocket to nearly orbital velocity in approximately nine minutes.
The rocket's Fregat-MT upper stage, modified to carry extra propellant, ignited for 13 minutes to propel the mission's payloads into an oval-shaped transfer orbit.
Another Fregat engine firing three hours later delivered two 1,543-pound Galileo satellites into a circular orbit about 14,400 miles above Earth. A few minutes later, the spacecraft were released from a specially-built dispenser to begin their missions.
A European Space Agency spokesperson confirmed both satellites were functioning and had deployed their solar panels.
"This launch represents a lot for Europe: we have placed in orbit the first two satellites of Galileo, a system that will position our continent as a world-class player in the strategic domain of satellite navigation, a domain with huge economic perspectives," said Jean-Jacques Dordain, ESA's director general.
"Moreover, this historic first launch of a genuine European system like Galileo was performed by the legendary Russian launcher that was used for Sputnik and Yuri Gagarin, a launcher that will, from now on, lift off from Europe's spaceport," Dordain said.
The Galileo satellites will conduct maneuvers every 12 hours, alternating between each spacecraft, for the next two weeks to reach their test positions. Three months from launch, controllers will finish their testing of the spacecraft and the satellites will produce their first navigation signals, according to Claude Audouy, operations director at the CNES, or French space agency, control center in Toulouse.
Credit: Stephane Corvaja/ESA
The French control center and the European Space Operations Center in Darmstadt, Germany, will oversee the early maneuvers and testing of the Galileo satellites, then control will be handed to routine operations center managed by the German Aerospace Center near Munich.
Control of the Galileo navigation payloads on-board each satellite will be managed from Fucino, Italy.
Officially dubbed Galileo IOV, the first phase of the European Union's Galileo navigation program is charged with verifying the satellites and navigation instruments work. Once that's complete, the IOV satellites will be transitioned into the operational fleet, which will ultimately reach 30 spacecraft.
"IOV means validation in orbit," said Didier Faivre, ESA's director of navigation. "Why validation in orbit? Well, because before we deploy an entire constellation we want to check it out with a mini-constellation."
Two more IOV satellites will be launched by the Soyuz rocket next summer, then 14 more operational satellites are on contract with OHB System AG of Bremen, Germany.
A team of expatriated Russian engineers working under French oversight prepared the Soyuz rocket for launch from French Guiana, a remote French territory sandwiched between Brazil and Suriname.
The launch was doubly important for Europe, which hopes to exploit the Soyuz for commercial and institutional missions. For communications satellites bound for geosynchronous orbit, launching the Soyuz from French Guiana almost doubles its performance over flights from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
That's because the Guiana Space Center lies at about 5 degrees north latitude, taking advantage of Earth's faster spin near the equator. The Baikonur Cosmodrome is at 46 degrees north latitude.
Launching from the Guiana Space Center also gives Europe more control over the Soyuz program, although Russian contractors and the Russian space agency still control launch operations and direct assembly of the rocket.
The Guiana Space Center, known by its French acronym CSG, is funded by the European Space Agency and CNES, the French national space agency.
Artist's concept of the Galileo validation satellites in orbit. Credit: ESA
The crucial payload bolted atop the Soyuz rocket was the other source of Europe's interest. The launcher delivered the first two operational satellites of the European Union's Galileo navigation program into orbit more than 14,000 miles above Earth.
Now estimated to cost $7.2 billion to complete, the Galileo program has a frustratingly long list of delays and cost overruns, but the constellation is finally on the verge of reality.
Built by Thales Alenia Space of Italy, the 1,543-pound satellites are called in-orbit validation platforms. Two more identical spacecraft will be lofted next year on another Soyuz rocket to help verify the navigation instruments aboard the satellites.
EADS Astrium of Germany holds overall responsibility for the satellites, but Thales was tapped to assemble the spacecraft in Italy.
"Their platform is simple, but their payload is highly sophisticated," Faivre said.
The payload includes ultra-precise atomic and rubidium clocks accurate to within one second over three million years.
The construction of 14 additional satellites, called full operational capability spacecraft, has been authorized by the European Commission, the EU's executive branch.
Antonio Tajani, the European Commission's vice president for industry and entrepreneurship, said a tender for between six and eight more Galileo satellites will reach a conclusion Feb. 1, when a winning contractor will be announced.
ESA acts as prime contractor for the Galileo program on behalf of the European Commission.
orb
New member
- Joined
- Oct 30, 2009
- Messages
- 14,020
- Reaction score
- 4
- Points
- 0
ESA:
Galileo satellites handed over to control centre in Germany
4 November 2011
Europe’s first two Galileo satellites have reached their final operating orbits, opening the way for activating and testing their navigation payloads.
The first two of four Galileo In-Orbit Validation satellites were launched on 21 October 2011.
Marking the formal end of their LEOP Launch and Early Operations Phase, control of the satellites was passed yesterday from the CNES French space agency centre in Toulouse to the Galileo Control Centre in Oberpfaffenhofen in Germany.
Oberfaffenhofen, operated by the German Aerospace Center DLR, will be in charge of the satellites' command and control for the whole of their 12-year operating lives.
The two Galileo satellites were launched by Soyuz from French Guiana on 21 October. Three hours and 49 minutes after launch, their Fregat-MT upper stage carried them into their planned 23 222 km orbit, where they were released simultaneously.
At this point, a joint team from CNES and ESA’s ESOC European Space Operations Centre moved into action, beginning the crucial task of bringing the two satellites to life.
The Galileo launch dispenser, designed for Arianespace by RUAG Space Sweden, secured the twin Galileo IOV satellites in place during the take-off of their Soyuz ST-B.
The first signals were heard almost simultaneously, confirming they were in good health – but there was still plenty of work to be done to keep them that way.
Like parachutists jumping from an aircraft, they were left tumbling through space. This spinning had to be brought under control before it was safe to deploy the power-giving solar panels, ending the satellites’ reliance on their rapidly dwindling battery power.
Once the reaction wheels steadied them, the satellites sought the Sun and began recharging their batteries, around 70 minutes after separation.
CNES's Centre Spatial de Toulouse (CST) from a dedicated control room that provides data links to the ground stations and networks
The thrusters were then tested – an important milestone because the Fregat had carried them most of the way into space but they would have to manoeuvre the last 100 km or so into their planned final orbits by themselves.
The pair then switched from Sun-pointing to Earth-pointing, using infrared sensors that detect our planet as a warm object in cold space.
After that, they settled into their normal mode, with the solar arrays tracking the Sun and the navigation antenna pointed towards Earth.
Galileo's Ground Control Segment (GCS) in the Oberpfaffenhofen Control Centre in Germany is in charge of overseeing the performance of the Galileo satellites
The section of satellite housing the sensitive atomic clocks – the most accurate ever flown in space for navigation purposes – is kept permanently cool in shadow to help stabilise their performance.
In this configuration, the Toulouse centre commanded a set of thruster firings to relocate the satellites to their intended orbits inclined at 56º to the equator.
The handover to Oberpfaffenhofen occurred directly after LEOP was completed, taking place at 22:00 CEST on 3 November.
Galileo IOT L-band antenna at ESA's Redu ground station
Ground controllers began by encrypting the telemetry and telecommand links, ensuring secure satellite control. Then they started commissioning the platform, verifying that all prime and redundant subsystems perform as expected.
The next few days will see the navigation payload being switched on, marking the start of Galileo’s In-Orbit Test campaign. This rigorous check of the navigation signals is being conducted from ESA’s ground station in Redu, Belgium.
In particular, a 20 m-diameter antenna will measure the precise shape of the navigation signals to a very high degree of accuracy.
Once the navigation payload is fully checked-out and activated, a second Galileo Control Centre in Fucino, Italy – operated by the Telespazio company - will oversee all navigation services.
All the entities participating in these activities - ESOC, CNES, DLR and Telespazio - do so under contract to SpaceOpal, a joint subsidiary company of DLR and Telespazio for Galileo operations.
"A big thank you and congratulations to the 'CNESOC' team who have professionally mastered this critical phase of the mission in an exemplary manor, which was another first in our ESA/CNES cooperation," said Manfred Warhaut, Head of Mission Operations at ESA.
Galileo satellites handed over to control centre in Germany
4 November 2011
Europe’s first two Galileo satellites have reached their final operating orbits, opening the way for activating and testing their navigation payloads.
Click on image to enlarge
The first two of four Galileo In-Orbit Validation satellites were launched on 21 October 2011.Credits: ESA - P. Carril
Marking the formal end of their LEOP Launch and Early Operations Phase, control of the satellites was passed yesterday from the CNES French space agency centre in Toulouse to the Galileo Control Centre in Oberpfaffenhofen in Germany.
Oberfaffenhofen, operated by the German Aerospace Center DLR, will be in charge of the satellites' command and control for the whole of their 12-year operating lives.
The two Galileo satellites were launched by Soyuz from French Guiana on 21 October. Three hours and 49 minutes after launch, their Fregat-MT upper stage carried them into their planned 23 222 km orbit, where they were released simultaneously.
At this point, a joint team from CNES and ESA’s ESOC European Space Operations Centre moved into action, beginning the crucial task of bringing the two satellites to life.
Click on image to enlarge
The Galileo launch dispenser, designed for Arianespace by RUAG Space Sweden, secured the twin Galileo IOV satellites in place during the take-off of their Soyuz ST-B.Credits: ESA - P. Carril
The first signals were heard almost simultaneously, confirming they were in good health – but there was still plenty of work to be done to keep them that way.
Like parachutists jumping from an aircraft, they were left tumbling through space. This spinning had to be brought under control before it was safe to deploy the power-giving solar panels, ending the satellites’ reliance on their rapidly dwindling battery power.
Once the reaction wheels steadied them, the satellites sought the Sun and began recharging their batteries, around 70 minutes after separation.
Click on image to enlarge
CNES's Centre Spatial de Toulouse (CST) from a dedicated control room that provides data links to the ground stations and networksCredits: CNES/Emmanuel Grimault, 2011
The thrusters were then tested – an important milestone because the Fregat had carried them most of the way into space but they would have to manoeuvre the last 100 km or so into their planned final orbits by themselves.
The pair then switched from Sun-pointing to Earth-pointing, using infrared sensors that detect our planet as a warm object in cold space.
After that, they settled into their normal mode, with the solar arrays tracking the Sun and the navigation antenna pointed towards Earth.
Click on image to enlarge
Galileo's Ground Control Segment (GCS) in the Oberpfaffenhofen Control Centre in Germany is in charge of overseeing the performance of the Galileo satellitesCredits: DLR
The section of satellite housing the sensitive atomic clocks – the most accurate ever flown in space for navigation purposes – is kept permanently cool in shadow to help stabilise their performance.
In this configuration, the Toulouse centre commanded a set of thruster firings to relocate the satellites to their intended orbits inclined at 56º to the equator.
The handover to Oberpfaffenhofen occurred directly after LEOP was completed, taking place at 22:00 CEST on 3 November.
Click on image to enlarge
Galileo IOT L-band antenna at ESA's Redu ground stationCredits: ESA
Ground controllers began by encrypting the telemetry and telecommand links, ensuring secure satellite control. Then they started commissioning the platform, verifying that all prime and redundant subsystems perform as expected.
The next few days will see the navigation payload being switched on, marking the start of Galileo’s In-Orbit Test campaign. This rigorous check of the navigation signals is being conducted from ESA’s ground station in Redu, Belgium.
In particular, a 20 m-diameter antenna will measure the precise shape of the navigation signals to a very high degree of accuracy.
Once the navigation payload is fully checked-out and activated, a second Galileo Control Centre in Fucino, Italy – operated by the Telespazio company - will oversee all navigation services.
All the entities participating in these activities - ESOC, CNES, DLR and Telespazio - do so under contract to SpaceOpal, a joint subsidiary company of DLR and Telespazio for Galileo operations.
"A big thank you and congratulations to the 'CNESOC' team who have professionally mastered this critical phase of the mission in an exemplary manor, which was another first in our ESA/CNES cooperation," said Manfred Warhaut, Head of Mission Operations at ESA.
orb
New member
- Joined
- Oct 30, 2009
- Messages
- 14,020
- Reaction score
- 4
- Points
- 0
Aviation Week: Galileo Satellites Healthy
orb
New member
- Joined
- Oct 30, 2009
- Messages
- 14,020
- Reaction score
- 4
- Points
- 0
orb
New member
- Joined
- Oct 30, 2009
- Messages
- 14,020
- Reaction score
- 4
- Points
- 0
ESA: Galileo in tune: first navigation signal transmitted to Earth:
|
Click on image to enlargeThe spectrum of the first Galileo test navigation signal, acquired by Redu ground station in Belgium on 12 December 2011, signed by the Galileo system validation team
Credits: ESA14 December 2011Europe’s Galileo system has passed its latest milestone, transmitting its very first test navigation signal back to Earth.The first two Galileo satellites were launched into orbit on 21 October. Since then their systems have been activated and the satellites placed into their final orbits, positioned so that their navigation antennas are aligned with the world they are designed to serve.Last weekend marked the first orbital transmission from one of these navigation antennas. The stage was set, the singer in place and an audience – in the shape of engineers on the ground – was waiting eagerly.The question was would the singer make music, and if so, would it be in tune?The turn of Galileo’s main ‘L-band’ (1200-1600 MHz) antenna came on the early morning of Saturday 10 December. A test signal was transmitted by the first Galileo satellite in the ‘E1’ band, which will be used for Galileo’s Open Service once the system begins operating in 2014.
