Subscribe free to our newsletters via your
. 24/7 Space News .




WEATHER REPORT
Weather satellite to be delivered in orbit to Eumetsat
by Staff Writers
Paris (ESA) Sep 12, 2012


Meteorology satellite MetOp-B. Credits: ESA/Eumetsat.

Later this month, Europe's newest meteorology satellite, MetOp-B, will blast into space from Baikonur Cosmodrome. For mission control teams at ESA, liftoff marks the start of 72 hours of intense focus during the mission's critical launch and early orbit phase. MetOp-B is the second of three MetOp polar-orbiting satellites procured on behalf of Eumetsat, the European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites, by ESA from a European industrial consortium led by Astrium.

The satellite is set for liftoff on a Soyuz rocket from Kazakhstan on 17 September, including instruments from the French space agency, CNES, and the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, NOAA.

The first radio signal from the craft is expected around 66 minutes after departure.

ESA teams to closely monitor new satellite

The launch and early orbit phase - known as LEOP to engineers - begins three minutes later, when MetOp separates from the Fregat upper stage. It will finish three days later when ESA hands the satellite over to Eumetsat after placing it into its planned orbit and ensuring that all systems are working properly.

During LEOP, ground teams at ESA's European Space Operations Centre (ESOC) in Darmstadt, Germany, will check all of MetOp-B's systems and that its solar array has deployed and rotated toward the Sun to provide crucial electrical power to run the satellite and its 13 scientific instruments.

"On Day One, we'll look for solar array deployment and activate a number of systems, and on Day Two, we'll deploy five payload instrument antennas," says Herve Come, Flight Operations Director at ESOC.

"On Day Three, we'll conduct a number of thruster burns to fine tune the orbit and get into 'phase' with the orbit of MetOp-A while we prepare for handover to Eumetsat."

Months of simulation training to prepare for LEOP

After months of simulation training and intensive rehearsals, the mission controllers assigned to MetOp-B are ready to react to any possible contingency situation.

"This LEOP is very similar to that for MetOp-A, launched in 2006, as the two satellites, the launcher and the ground station network are almost identical," says Andreas Rudolph, Deputy Flight Operations Director.

"Due to normal personnel turnover, our team is almost entirely new, so we've done a lot of team building and an intense training and simulations campaign."

MetOp will enter a polar orbit at an altitude of 817 km with an orbital period of 101 minutes, so multiple ground stations are necessary to provide the full-time communications needed during LEOP.

Six stations in Africa, Europe, Alaska and Hawaii, including ESA's 15 m-diameter antenna in Maspalomas, Spain, will track the satellite.

"The operations, flight dynamics and ground systems teams at ESOC are Europe's top experts in delivering spacecraft into their initial orbits as well as operating missions through all critical and routine mission phases," says Manfred Warhaut, ESA's Head of Mission Operations.

"We're definitely ready to go."

.


Related Links
MetOp-B
Weather News at TerraDaily.com






Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle








WEATHER REPORT
Year so far the hottest in US history
Washington (AFP) Sept 10, 2012
The continental United States has recorded its warmest ever year so far with all but one of the 48 states clocking temperatures above the historical average, official data showed Monday. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said the average temperature from January through August was 14.8 Celsius (58.7 F), beating the 2006 record and 2.2 C (4.0 F) above the 20th century averag ... read more


WEATHER REPORT
Chandrayaan II may be delayed, says ISRO Chief

First man on moon to be buried at sea: Armstrong family

Russian deputy PM proposes Moon station

NASA's GRAIL Moon Twins Begin Extended Mission Science

WEATHER REPORT
NASA Observations Point to 'Dry Ice' Snowfall on Mars

Mars rover Curiosity working 'flawlessly': NASA

Lockheed Martin Begins Final Assembly of NASA's MAVEN Spacecraft

Early Mars may not have been hospitable after all: study

WEATHER REPORT
Mankind's messenger at the final frontier

35 years on, Voyager 'dancing on edge' of outer space

Space-age food served up with seeds of success

Africa eyes joint space agency

WEATHER REPORT
Tiangong Orbit Change Signals Likely Date for Shenzhou 10

China Focus: Timeline for China's space research revealed

China eyes next lunar landing as US scales back

China unveils ambitious space projects

WEATHER REPORT
Astronauts Take Second Spacewalk

ISS crew complete space station repair

Crew Wraps Up Preparations for Wednesday's Spacewalk

Building MLM Under Way at Khrunichev

WEATHER REPORT
SES signs three satellite launches with SpaceX

S. Korea to make third rocket launch bid in October

Arianespace concurrently manages six missions with Ariane 5 and Soyuz

First-Stage Fuel Loaded; Launch Weather Forecast Improves

WEATHER REPORT
Birth of a planet

A Hot Potential Habitable Exoplanet around Gliese 163

NASA's Kepler Discovers Multiple Planets Orbiting a Pair of Stars

How Old are the First Planets?

WEATHER REPORT
SciTechTalk: Tablet wars heat up

System will seek orbiting space debris

Apple unveils thinner, more powerful iPhone 5

Zuckerberg eyes mobile after Facebook IPO flop




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2014 - Space Media Network. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement