ESTEC Test Centre, Europe’s largest satellite testing facility, said goodbye on Nov. 14 to the final satellite in the Galileo First Generation series, as it departed to OHB in Germany. There, it will rest in storage until ready to be sent for launch.
In a new European Space Agency (ESA) video, the people responsible for readying the satellites for space have gathered to reflect on the end of an era.
The work on Galileo began two decades ago with two test Galileo In-Orbit Validation (GIOVE) satellites, followed by a series of operational launches. The two GIOVE satellites and all 34 Galileo Full Operational Capability satellites were tested at ESTEC.
Next will come the Galileo Second Generation satellites, already in development.
The successor to the first quasi-zenith satellite, dubbed Michibiki, is expected to launch this year.
Michibiki was launched by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) in September 2010 and was transferred to the Cabinet Office in 2017. The replacement satellite is now undergoing prototype testing at the satellite manufacturer’s facility(Mitsubishi Electric Co. Ltd. Kamakura Seisakusho) in Kanagawa.
The tests will confirm performance of the replacement satellite before it is put into service. It is undergoing acousitic, vibration and thermal vacuum tests to ensure it will remain functional after launch and in space.
After testing, the satellite will be transported to the Tanegashima Space Center for launch, which is expected to take place later this year.
Replacement for Michibiki: The L-band antenna that transmits the positioning signal is mounted on the Earth-oriented left side. (Photo: JAXA)
Though built to succeed the first QZSS satellite, the replacement is based on the second and fourth satellites
Main specifications of the successor to the first satellite and other satellites:
item
First machine
Units 2 and 4
Unit 3
Successor to the first machine
Orbit
Quasi-zenith
Quasi-zenith
Rest
Quasi-zenith
Positioning signal
L1-C / A,
L1C, L1S,
L2C, L5, L6
L1-C / A, L1C,
L1S, L2C,
L5, L5S, L6
L1-C / A, L1C,
L1S, L1Sb, L2C,
L5, L5S, L6
L1-C / A
(L1-C / B (* 1)),
L1C, L1S, L2C,
L5, L5S, L6
L band antenna
Helical method
(* 2)
Helical method
(* 2)
Patch method
(* 3)
Patch method
(* 3)
Generated power
5.3kW
6.3kW
6.3kW
6.3kW
mass
About 4t
About 4t
About 4.7t
About 4t
Design life
10 years or more
Over 15 years
Over 15 years
Over 15 years
Launch year
2010
2017
2017
2021
(planned)
Launch
rocket
H2A202
H2A202
H2A204
H2A202
(* 1) Signal transmitted by BOC (Binary Offset Carrier) modulation of L1-C / A code
(* 2) Antenna with spiral antenna elements arranged
(* 3) Antenna with planar antenna elements arranged
The 45th satellite of the BeiDou Navigation Satellite System — launched on May 17, 2019 — has started operation in the network after completing in-orbit tests, reports China’s Xinhua news service.
The satellite will provide services in place of the third BeiDou satellite, a geostationary earth orbit satellite of the BDS-2 system, according to China’s Satellite Navigation System Management Office.
The replacement will help reinforce the BDS-2 system and support a smooth transition from the BDS-2 system to the BDS-3 system. The third satellite — launched Jan. 17, 2010 — will stay in orbit after the replacement.
Each Galileo satellite must go through a rigorous test campaign to assure its readiness for the violence of launch, the vacuum of space, and temperature extremes of Earth orbit, reported the European Space Agency.
Each one is despatched to a unique location in Europe to ensure its readiness before launch: a 3,000-square-meter cleanroom complex nestled in sandy dunes along the Dutch coast, filled with test equipment to simulate all aspects of spaceflight.
The test centre in Noordwijk — Europe’s largest satellite test site — is part of ESA’s main technical centre, but it is maintained and operated on a commercial basis on behalf of the Agency by a private company created for the purpose: European Test Services (ETS) B.V.
“Our company was founded 2000 as a joint venture between two of Europe’s leading satellite environmental test companies, Intespace in France and IABG in Germany,” said Pierre Destaing, ETS test programme support manager for Galileo. “That business setup is a source of flexibility: there are 30–35 people working here throughout the year, but if extra specialists are needed for a given campaign, we can call on our parent companies.”
ETS has been responsible for supporting many historic test campaigns – including space-certifying Europe’s 20-tonne ATV space truck and Envisat, the world’s largest civilian Earth-observing mission. But in terms of scale alone, its work with Galileo is the company’s greatest challenge.
ETS is about to complete its contracts with OHB System AG, covering the environmental test of 22 ‘Full Operational Capability’ Galileo satellites, preceded by the testing of the very first of the first-generation ‘In-Orbit Validation’ Galileo satellites on a previous, separate contract.
A Galileo FOC satellite is slid out of its transport container into the clean room at ESTEC. (Photo: ESA)
The pressure has been steady to ensure satellites are available in time to meet Galileo’s launch schedule.
“Traffic management is a big part of the job – it’s like a game of Tetris,” Pierre said. “We have a steady stream of Galileo satellites to accommodate, along with other missions such as the BepiColombo Mercury orbiter, Solar Orbiter, the Cheops exoplanet detector and currently the latest MetOp weather satellite, with a fixed set of test facilities. The biggest challenge is definitely ensuring that every project can have the access to the facility they need at the right time, which demands complicated logistics and security adherence.”
ETS has built up to a steady rhythm with the OHB System team, typically accommodating multiple satellites in storage on site, at the same time as others undergo further active testing.
“When each new satellite arrives, it is first unpacked within the carefully filtered and air conditioned Test Centre environment,” Pierre said.
Moving a Galileo Full Operational Capability satellite between test facilities at ESA’s Test Centre in Noordwijk, the Netherlands. (Photo: ESA)
