PROBA (Project for On-Board Autonomy), renamed PROBA-1, is a Belgian satellite technology demonstration mission launched atop an Indian Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle by ISRO on 22 October 2001.[1][2] The satellite was funded through the ESA's MicroSat and General Study Program with the objective of addressing issues regarding on-board operational autonomy of a generic satellite platform.[3][4] This small (60×60×80 cm; 95 kg) boxlike system, with solar panel collectors on its surface, hosts two Earth Observation instruments dubbed CHRIS and HRC. CHRIS is a hyperspectral system (200 narrow bands) that images at 17 m resolution, while HRC is a monochromatic camera that images visible light at 5 m resolution.[5]
| Names | PROBA, PROBA-1 |
|---|---|
| Mission type | Experimental, Earth Observation |
| Operator | ESA |
| COSPAR ID | 2001-049B |
| SATCAT no. | 26958 |
| Website | Proba-1 applications |
| Mission duration | Elapsed: 22 years, 7 months, 23 days |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Bus | PROBA |
| Manufacturer | QinetiQ Space (previously Verhaert Space) |
| Launch mass | 94 kg (207 lb) |
| Dry mass | 94 kg (207 lb) |
| Dimensions | 0.6 m × 0.6 m × 0.8 m (2 ft 0 in × 2 ft 0 in × 2 ft 7 in) |
| Power | 90 W |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | 04:53, 22 October 2001 (UTC) |
| Rocket | PSLV C3 |
| Launch site | Sriharikota FLP |
| Contractor | ISRO |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Geocentric |
| Regime | Sun-synchronous |
| Eccentricity | 0.008866 |
| Perigee altitude | 553 km (344 mi) |
| Apogee altitude | 677 km (421 mi) |
| Inclination | 97.9 degrees |
| Period | 97 minutes |
| Epoch | 22 October 2001 00:53:00 UTC |
With an initial lifetime of one to two years, the satellite celebrated its 20th year of operations in 2021.[5] On 9 March 2018, it surpassed ERS-2 as ESA's longest operated Earth observation mission of all time.[6] ESA aims to deorbit the satellite through the ClearSpace-1 mission in 2026.[7]
Series of satellites
PROBA is also the name of the series of satellites starting with PROBA-1. The name is also used to refer to the bus of the satellites.
The second satellite in the PROBA series, PROBA-2, was launched on 2 November 2009 together with the SMOS satellite.
The third satellite to be launched was PROBA-V (PROBA-Vegetation), on 7 May 2013.
Further planned satellites in the PROBA series include the formation flying demonstration mission PROBA-3 and limb sounder ALTIUS.
See also
References
External links
- http://earth.esa.int/proba/ Archived 2012-01-09 at the Wayback Machine
- PROBA-1 article on eoPortal by ESA
- PROBA-2 article on eoPortal by ESA
- PROBA-3 article on eoPortal by ESA
- PROBA-V article on eoPortal by ESA
- PROBA-V plus one article on eoPortal by ESA