Science and Tech

The first satellite with lithium-ion batteries celebrates 23 years in orbit

Proba 1 Satellite

Proba 1 Satellite – THAT

Oct. 24 () –

ESA’s Proba-1 technology demonstration microsatellite, The first mission to use lithium-ion batteries in orbit, it has completed 23 years in space and is still working.

Produced for ESA by Verhaert in Belgium, now (Redwire Space), Proba-1 was launched on October 22, 2001 on an Indian polar satellite launch vehicle by the Indian Space Research Organization, ISRO.

Among other firsts, the Earth observation Proba-1 performed many guidance, navigation and control tasks autonomously (including multi-angle acquisitions of surface imaging targets) and used off-the-shelf commercial parts rather than purely space-rated components.

Proba-1’s main CHRIS hyperspectral imager ceased operation in late 2022 after acquiring more than two decades of data, although it remains fully functional. The Proba-3’s secondary high-resolution camera also continues to function.

Originally planned to operate for only two years, the mission is providing valuable information on the durability of onboard systems, reports the ESA.

The Proba-1 mission will formally conclude with another first: it has become the assigned target for ESA’s ClearSpace-1 debris removal spacecraft, which will be de-orbited in 2028.

Your name, abbreviation of Project for Onboard Autonomy, It was the first in a family of technology demonstration satellites, followed by Proba-2, which observes the Sun, Proba-V, which monitors terrestrial vegetation, and soon Proba-3, a double satellite that will create artificial solar eclipses. in orbit to observe the solar corona, the source of space weather.

Source link