Proba-V
 Artist's view of the Proba-V satellite |
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| Operator | European Space Agency |
|---|---|
| Major contractors | Qinetiq Space Belgium |
| Mission type | Earth observation |
| Launch date | 7 May 2013, 02:06:31 UTC |
| Carrier rocket | Vega |
| Launch site | Kourou ELV |
| Mission duration | 2.5–5 years |
| Mass | 160 kg |
| Orbital elements | |
| Regime | Sun-Synchronous Orbit |
| Eccentricity | 0° (planned) |
| Inclination | 98.1° (planned) |
| Altitude | 820 km (510 mi) (planned) |
Proba-V is the fourth satellite in the European Space Agency's PROBA series; the V standing for vegetation.
Contents |
Satellite [edit]
Proba-V is a small satellite, assuring the succession of the Vegetation instruments [1] on board the French SPOT-4 and SPOT-5 Earth observation missions. Proba-V was initiated by the Space- and Aeronautics department of the BELgian Science Policy Office. It is built and operated by ESA and uses a PROBA platform. Proba-V will support applications such as land use, worldwide vegetation classification, crop monitoring, famine prediction, food security, disaster monitoring and biosphere studies. The mission was originally conceived as a "gap filler" between the SPOT-5 end-of-life (foreseen mid-2014) and the launch of the constellation of the Sentinel-3A and -3B satellites. Due to delays of the Sentinel programme and due to the fact that some instrument specifications of the Sentinel3 satellites have meanwhile changed, Proba-V no longer is a gap filler mission but will assure the continuation of the Vegetation programme as such. The Vegetation, International User Committee (IUC, an independent body consisting of Vegetation users, that provides user feedback and recommendations to the Vegetation Steering Committee) has recommended to foresee a successor mission for Proba-V, because the current specifications of the Sentinel3 satellites no longer allow the continuation of the Vegetation products in the long run. This mission is the first full application mission with a PROBA platform and has a very tight development schedule.[2]
Development and operations [edit]
Proba-V and its onboard instruments have been developed and built by the Directorate of TEChnology (DTEC) of ESA. These developments have been payed with Belgian and Luxemburg contributions to ESA. After the launch, Proba-V will be handed over to the Earth Observation Directorate of ESA, that will manage the satellite operations, instrument data collection and distribution of the traditional Vegetation products to the users. The new, higher resolution products will be generated and distributed by VITO.
Onboard instruments [edit]
The primary payload of Proba-V is the Vegetation instrument. This is a reduced-mass version of the Vegetation instrument currently on board the SPOT-4 and -5 satellites to provide a daily overview of global vegetation growth.[3] The Vegetation instrument onboard Proba-V has a higher spatial resolution (smaller groundpixels) than the Vegetation instruments on board the SPOT satellites. The spectral bands (see Electromagnetic spectrum) are nearly identical to the spectral bands of the SPOT Vegetation instruments. Other characteristics of the Proba-V Vegetation instrument are :
| Proba-V Vegetation instrument | Specification |
|---|---|
| 3 compact, wide field of view, 3-mirror Astigmatic telescope | (3x 34.6°) x 5.5° |
| Visual and Near InfraRed (VNIR) detectors | 3x 5200 pixels, 13 μm |
| Blue band | 447–493 nm |
| Red band | 610–690 nm |
| Near infrared band | 444–893 nm |
| Ground resolution VNIR | 1/3 km |
| Short Wave InfraRed (SWIR) detector | 3x 1024 pixels, butted InGaAs detectors |
| Short wave infrared band | 1570–1650 nm |
| Ground resolution SWIR | 2/3 km |
For more detailed specifications and the resulting products that are available to the users, see [4]
The other, secondary, onboard instruments are :
| Proba-V secondary instruments | Objective |
|---|---|
| Gallium Nitride based X-band power amplifier | space qualification of new hardware |
| Energetic particle telescope | record charge, energy and incidence angle of charged particles |
| Automatic Dependent Surveillance Broadcast (ADS-B) receiver | demonstrate receiving aircraft signals from space, allowing better handling of aircraft emergencies in very remote areas |
| SATRAM radiation monitoring system | complement to Energetic particle telescope |
These secondary instruments are technology demonstrators.
Launch [edit]
Proba-V was launched from ELA-1 at Guiana Space Centre on board the second launch of the Vega rocket on 7 May 2013 together with the Vietnamese VNREDSat 1A satellite, and Estonia's first satellite, ESTCube-1. The launch will mark the first test of the new Vespa dual-payload adapter; PROBA-V will ride in the upper position of the Vespa adapter, and VNREDSat 1A will sit in the lower position.[5]
See also [edit]
References [edit]
- ^ "SPOT-Vegetation". VITO. Retrieved 2013-04-17.
- ^ "PROBA V". Qinetiq Space. Retrieved 2013-01-07.
- ^ "PROBA-V Misson". ESA. Retrieved 2013-01-07.
- ^ "Proba-V website". VITO. Retrieved 2013-04-17.
- ^ Stephen Clark (2013-01-04). "Vietnamese satellite booked for second Vega launch". Spaceflight Now. Retrieved 2013-01-07.
External links [edit]
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