PSLV-C59 places PROBA-3 satellites into designated orbit
Context
Recently, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) successfully launched the European Space Agency’s (ESA) PROBA-3 (Project for Onboard Autonomy) mission.
Relevance:
GS-03 (Science and technology)
Key Highlights:
- The ESA’s, PROBA-3 mission aims to redefine space exploration, including producing artificial solar eclipses in orbit.
- The launch was done by ISRO’s PSLV-C59.
- Scientific Purpose: The mission aims to produce artificial solar eclipses in space. This will allow extended observations of the Sun’s corona, its outermost atmospheric layer, which is crucial for understanding solar dynamics.
About Proba-3:
- Proba-3 is an In-Orbit Demonstration (IOD) mission to observe the Sun’s corona through satellite formation flight.
- It is the world’s first precision formation-flying mission. It comprises of two spacecrafts viz. the Coronagraph Spacecraft (CSC) and the Occulter Spacecraft (OSC) and it will be launched together in a stacked configuration.
- Focus of formation flying is to maintain a targeted orbit configuration.
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