OrbitalHub

Credits: ESA

ESA is developing a new satellite communication system that will revolutionize the way Europe gets its information from space. This new communication system is called EDRSS – the European Data Relay Satellite System.

EDRSS will use geostationary satellites to communicate with both ground stations and satellites that are operating in low Earth orbits.

EDRSS will allow low Earth orbit satellites to deliver data continuously, instead of storing it on board and sending it to Earth while flying over a ground station. EDRSS will consist of a network of satellites that will communicate between themselves as well as with the ground stations. This new infrastructure will increase the speed at which ground stations receive data from satellites, thereby improving global communication, navigation, and Earth observation.

EDRSS will serve as a communication infrastructure and it will improve many key services: monitoring earthquakes, forest fires, floods, and aircraft navigation, just to name a few.

You can watch an ESA video cast for more details.

Credits: SpaceX

SpaceX just announced the DragonLab Spacecraft. DragonLab is a reusable spacecraft capable of delivering pressurized and un-pressurized payloads to and from space. SpaceX will use Falcon 9 (the heavier version of Falcon 1) to launch the DragonLab spacecraft into orbit.

Dragon will perform two missions in 2009. These missions will test the telemetry, orbital maneuvering and thermal control, and a rendezvous simulation with the Falcon 9 upper stage. The first full cargo mission to ISS is scheduled for 2010.

The technical page dedicated to the Dragon spacecraft is quite impressive. Just to mention a few features: down-cargo capability is equal to up-cargo, and up to seven passengers in crew configuration. SpaceX claims fully autonomous rendezvous and docking, but the simulation developed by Odyssey Space Research shows capture operations similar to HTV (the Dragon spacecraft will approach the ISS and then the ISS robotic manipulator will capture the spacecraft and guide it to the docking module).

Credits: NASA/SpaceX

DragonLab will compete with the ATV spacecraft (and the future CTV, LCR versions) that ESA is developing.

SpaceX also announced that it is hosting a workshop on November 6, 2008. Registration is mandatory, so time is of the essence! I am pretty sure the seats are selling like hot cakes…

Credits: ESA – J. Huart

The small-payload market is rapidly expanding. Institutional programs (mostly Earth observation and scientific missions) drive this emerging market. In order to meet the demands of the small-payload market, ESA has transformed the small launcher program initiated by the Italian Space Agency (ASI) in the 1990s into Vega, a co-operative project with other Member States within the ESA framework.

The small-payload market consists of satellites up to 3,000 kg and it stands at around five missions per year. There are many classifications for the satellites in this market, so we will present just one classification for informational purposes. The satellites in this class are divided into three categories: micro-satellites (up to 300 kg), mini-satellites (from 300 kg to 1,000 kg), and small satellites (from 1,000 kg to 3,000 kg).

The orbits required for the deployment of these satellites are mainly Sun Synchronous Orbits (SSO) and Low Earth Orbits (LEO). Vega’s in-orbit launch capability benchmark is 1,500 kg into a 700 km altitude polar orbit. Being designed to cope with a wide range of missions, Vega will address the various market requirements for this class of satellites.

Credits: ESA

Vega is a single-body launcher composed of four stages. The first three stages are solid propellant stages, while the fourth stage has a liquid propellant engine. Vega is 30 meters high, has a maximum diameter of three meters and a total of 137 tons at lift-off.

There are three main sections: the Lower Composite, the Restartable Upper Module and the Payload Composite.

The Lower Composite section consists of the first three stages (the solid propellant stages). The first stage is equipped with a P80-FW motor containing 88 tons of propellant. The second stage contains a Zefiro 23 motor with 23 tons of propellant. The third stage consists of a Zefiro 9 motor with 10 tons of propellant and the stage-interfacing structures.

The technology for the three solid-propellant stages (P80, Z23, Z9) is derived from the Zefiro 16 rocket motor. These motors benefit from the experience acquired by Europe in the field of solid propulsion. Each motor is composed of a thermal-insulated carbon-epoxy monolithic case, the solid propellant HTPB 1912, a nozzle, a thrust vector control system driven by two electro-actuators that operate the movable nozzle, and a control unit that provides pitch and yaw control during the flight. Each stage also includes an ignition subsystem, a safety subsystem, and the interfaces to the other stages.

Credits: ESA/CNES-SOV

The P80 engine was designed for the Vega small launcher, and it helps validate technologies applicable to a new generation of solid boosters for the Ariane 5 launch vehicle. This new design was driven by the goal of minimizing recurring costs, a significant reduction being made with respect to the current metal case boosters.

The Restartable Upper Module is the fourth stage of the launcher. It is also known as the Altitude and Vernier Upper Module (AVUM). The AVUM consists of two modules: the AVUM Propulsion Module and the AVUM Avionics Module.

The propulsion system uses NTO (Nitrogen Tetroxide) and UDMH (Unsymmetrical dimethyl hydrazine) as propellants. The propellants are stored in two identical titanium tanks pressurized by helium. Depending on the mission, the propellant load can be between 250 kg and 500 kg.

The avionics system is largely adapted from existing hardware and/or components already under development (namely subsystems already in use by the Ariane 5 launch vehicle).

The Payload Composite section is composed of the fairing and the payload/launcher interface structure. The fairing is composed of two shells that are jettisoned during flight after the separation of the second stage. The payload/launcher interface is an Adaptor 937, which is a standard interface used on the European launchers. Additional payload adapters can be added for multi-payload missions.

Credits: ESA – J. Huart

The dedicated Ground Segment for the Vega launcher comprises of the Launch Zone (ZLV – Zone de Lancement Vega) and the Operational Control Center, all located at the European Spaceport at Kourou, in French Guiana. ESA also built a Payload Preparation Complex that will be used for satellite and equipment unpacking, mechanical inspections, the checkout of the payloads, and the final integration of the payload composite before mounting it on top of the launcher.

On October 24, 2008, the Zefiro 9 rocket engine passed the first qualification test. There is one additional firing test left for the engine. The Vega launcher’s qualification flight is scheduled to take place by the end of 2009.

Credits: Avio SpA (Italy)

ESA is responsible for the qualification of the launch service and also for sustaining the qualification status during the exploitation phase. Ariane Space will be responsible for Vega’s commercialization and launch operations. The expected launch rate for Vega will be up to four launches per year.

Please stay tuned on the OrbitalHub frequency. We will keep you posted!

Credits: ESA

The Carnival of Space edition 77 is hosted at Tomorrow Is Here. OrbitalHub submitted a story about ESA’s Herschel Space Observatory.

Credits: ESA/AOES Medialab

In a previous post, we presented the Planck spacecraft. We would like to dedicate this post to Planck’s big brother, Herschel. Why b(r)other? Because Planck and Herschel will be launched into space by the same Ariane 5 launcher and they will share the fairing section during the launch phase of the mission. Why big? Well, because Herschel is a larger spacecraft than Planck… actually Herschel is the largest space telescope ever built.

Just to have an idea about the size of the infrared telescope onboard the Herschel spacecraft, the primary mirror has a diameter of 3.5 m and a mass of only 350 kg. In comparison, the mirror of the Hubble space telescope has a diameter of 2.4 m and a mass of 1.5 tons. Obviously, a great deal of effort has been put into minimizing the mass of the telescope, an advance made possible by present-day technology.

The infrared telescope will become operational four months after its launch and will have a nominal mission lifetime of three years. The objectives that ESA set for the Herschel Space Observatory are ambitious: the study of the galaxies in the early universe, the investigation of the creation of stars, the observation of the chemical composition of the atmosphere and surfaces of comets, planets and satellites, as well as examining the molecular chemistry of the universe.

Like Planck, Herschel will observe the sky from the second Lagrangean Point (L2) of the Sun-Earth system. The instruments onboard Herschel will collect long-wavelength infrared radiation. Herschel will be the only space observatory to cover the spectral range from the far infrared to sub-millimeter, which is the reason why the initial name of the space observatory was Far Infrared and Sub-millimeter Telescope (FIRST).

Credits: ESA

The Herschel spacecraft will have 3.3 tons at launch, with a length of 7.5 m and a cross section of 4×4 m. The spacecraft comprises of two modules: the service module and the payload module. While the service module contains the systems for power conditioning, attitude control, data handling and communications, and the warm parts of the scientific instruments, the payload module contains the telescope, the optical bench, the cold parts of the scientific instruments and the cooling system. A sunshield protects the telescope and the cryostat from solar radiation. The sunshield also carries solar cells for power generation.

In order to make accurate observations of the infrared spectrum, parts of the scientific instruments onboard have to be cooled to temperatures close to absolute zero. Two thousand liters of liquid helium will be used for primary cooling during the mission. In addition, each detector onboard is equipped with additional cooling systems.

Credits: ESA/Guarniero

Herschel will not be the first infrared telescope launched into space. There are three predecessors that we would like to mention here: IRAS, the US-Dutch-British satellite launched in 1983, ISO – launched by ESA in 1995, and the NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope – launched in 2003. However, these three infrared space telescopes were operated on Earth orbits. As we mentioned, Herschel will operate in the L2 point, away from any interference that would affect the scientific instruments onboard. Operating in the L2 point will also help with regard to thermal stability because the spacecraft will not move in and out of eclipse regions.

The launch date is set for early 2009. The journey to the final operational position will take around four months. The European Space Operations Control Center (ESOC) in Darmstadt will coordinate the mission.

Credits: ESA

This week, the Carnival of Space is hosted in Sweden at As(si)tronomi by Assi Süer. This is the 76th edition of the Carnival.

OrbitalHub submitted a story about the XMM-Newton space telescope.

There are two updates that we would like to bring to your attention. The first is that ESA re-established radio contact with XMM-Newton. Also, the GOCE mission is postponed until February 2009 due to technical problems with the upper stage of the launch vehicle.