The Proba-3 space mission, developed by the European Space Agency(ESA) and led by Spain’s Sener, has made significant progress in its in-orbit readiness phase, following the successful execution of its first autonomous formation flying operations.
Successful development of the Proba-3 space mission
During the past few weeks, the mission’s satellites performed synchronized maneuvers at about 60,000 km from Earth. These spacecraft, Coronagraph and Occulter, maintained a relative distance of 150 meters with an accuracy of just a few millimeters. And their main assignment was to simulate an artificial artificial solar eclipse to capture detailed images of the solar corona.
The control team, based in Redu’s ESEC center in Belgium, included specialists from ESA, Sener and Redwire, plus technical experts from GMV. The whole group supervised an operation in which the satellites used several sensors in sequence: first the WAC and NAC optical cameras, then a laser metrology system and finally a sensor located in the coronagraph itself. All these elements made it possible to maintain the desired formation for six hours in each space orbit.
Each of the maneuvers was carried out without direct human intervention, but under constant observation, validating the autonomous navigation system designed for this mission. This achievement improves the reference of Proba-3 as a relevant European space technology.
Proba-3, part of ESA’s General Support Technology Program, was launched in December 2024. It is driven by an international industrial consortium involving 29 companies from 17 countries. In addition to Sener, there are collaborations with Redwire, GMV, Airbus and Spacebel, with institutional backing from the CDTI in Spain.
The next steps in the mission will focus on applying formation flying technology to its main scientific objective: to obtain unprecedented images of the solar corona. Such an approach will make it possible to study solar phenomena in detail impossible from Earth, consolidating Europe’s role at the forefront of space observation.
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Source and photo: Sener
