All articles tagged with #formation flying
NASA’s CAPSTONE 02 will launch in 2027 to send two maneuverable probes into lunar orbit to study the Moon's complex three-body gravity, operating in formation as chaser and target to map navigation and communication systems for Artemis-era missions. Built by Terran Orbital, CAPSTONE 02 follows the first CAPSTONE mission (2022–2026) which tested near-rectilinear halo orbits and three-body dynamics.
Europe’s Proba-3 formation (two satellites designed to create artificial solar eclipses and study the corona) has lost contact after an anomaly caused one probe to lose orientation. The Coronagraph, which images the sun’s outer atmosphere, and its Occulter partner must stay precisely aligned about 150 meters apart; the incident has led to a progressive attitude loss and solar-power drain, pushing the spacecraft into survival mode. ESA says the root cause is under investigation and teams are exploring ways to steer the Occulter closer to the Coronagraph to diagnose the issue and reestablish contact, with updates expected as the investigation continues (reported after Feb. 14 anomaly, with March 6 ESA update cited).
The ESA Proba-3 mission successfully created its first artificial total solar eclipse in orbit using two precisely coordinated satellites, capturing detailed images of the Sun's corona to advance solar science and improve space weather modeling.
India's ISRO successfully launched the Proba-3 mission satellites, marking a significant achievement in space exploration. The mission, led by the European Space Agency (ESA), aims to demonstrate precise formation flying with two spacecraft, the Coronagraph Spacecraft and the Occulter Spacecraft, to study the Sun's corona. This collaboration between ISRO and ESA highlights advancements in solar research and international cooperation in space technology.
The European Space Agency's Proba-3 mission, set to launch on December 4, 2024, aboard an Indian PSLV rocket, will use two satellites to create artificial solar eclipses in space. This mission aims to study the sun's corona by blocking its disk with one satellite while the other observes, allowing for extended observation periods compared to natural eclipses. The mission will also demonstrate precise formation flying, potentially paving the way for future large-scale space missions.
The PSLV-C59 mission, a commercial launch by NewSpace India Limited, will deploy the European Space Agency's Proba-3 spacecraft into a highly elliptical orbit. Proba-3 aims to demonstrate precise formation flying with its two spacecraft, the Coronagraph Spacecraft and the Occulter Spacecraft, launched in a stacked configuration from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota.
Spain is set to launch three CubeSats, known as ANSER, that will mimic birds flying in formation to monitor Iberian waters. The shoebox-sized satellites will operate about 500 kilometers above Earth and maintain a distance of 10 km apart from each other. Instead of onboard propulsion systems, the CubeSats will use wing-like flaps to control their relative positions. The mission aims to demonstrate the feasibility of distributed systems and miniaturization for Earth observation missions. The launch will be facilitated by Vega-C rocket's Small Spacecraft Mission Service.
Spain's ANSER CubeSats, set to launch on Europe's Vega rocket, will fly in formation and maintain their relative positions using wing-like flaps that take advantage of the airflow at the top of Earth's atmosphere. The three CubeSats, working together as a single satellite, will image Iberian waters and use a specially-developed algorithm to plan aerodynamic maneuvers. The mission aims to demonstrate the operational capabilities of small satellites for Earth observation and will be limited to a few years, with the possibility of replacing CubeSats to continue the mission.
The two spacecraft forming ESA’s Proba-3 mission for precise formation flying in orbit are now complete and fully integrated. The mission's main payload is a science instrument focused on the Sun which will produce unique data. The spacecraft will fly on a highly elongated orbit and will perform observations at the top of each orbit to minimize gravitational and illumination effects from Earth. The spacecraft will be shipped to Germany for a four-month environmental test campaign before being flown by PSLV launcher from India next year.