{"id":85027,"date":"2025-05-08T16:15:10","date_gmt":"2025-05-08T16:15:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/85027\/"},"modified":"2025-05-08T16:15:10","modified_gmt":"2025-05-08T16:15:10","slug":"these-satellites-just-nailed-the-most-precise-formation-flight-in-space-history","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/85027\/","title":{"rendered":"These Satellites Just Nailed the Most Precise Formation Flight in Space History"},"content":{"rendered":"

The European Space Agency\u2019s Proba-3 mission has achieved something no other mission\u2014or synchronized swimmer\u2014has before: autonomous, precision formation flying in space with millimeter accuracy.<\/p>\n

ESA\u2019s Proba-3 satellites\u2014the Occulter and the Coronagraph, respectively\u2014maintained a steady 492-foot (150-meter) distance from one another in a highly elliptical orbit, simulating a single massive instrument. The same principle is used by satellite constellations<\/a> and planned space telescopes<\/a>\u00a0to capitalize on the laws of physics and the relatively noiseless environment of space to collect more data than otherwise possible. But Proba-3\u2019s goal is unique: to align the spacecraft in such a way that one (the Occulter) can block out the Sun\u2019s glare, while the other (the Coronagraph) can take a clean look at its wispy outer atmosphere\u2014the solar corona.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

For this to work, the two spacecraft can\u2019t just drift around together\u2014they must stay aligned with millimeter-level (0.04-inch) precision, with no micromanagement from Earth. Specifically, the instruments need to be aligned such that there\u2019s nearly 500 feet (152.4 m) between them, and a 4.6-foot (1.4-m) disc on the Occulter casts a 2-inch (5-centimeter) shadow on the Coronagraph\u2014that\u2019s all the latter needs to be sheltered from the Sun\u2019s brilliance and image its faint, ethereal corona.<\/p>\n

After initial positioning by ground control, the satellite duo\u2019s autonomous system of cameras, LEDs, and laser rangefinders brings the two spacecraft closer together, leveraging an algorithm to ensure that the Coronagraph stays safely in the Occulter\u2019s shadow.<\/p>\n

\"Proba-3Credit: ESA-F. Zonno <\/p>\n

The Fine Lateral and Longitudinal Sensor (FLLS)\u2014a laser system that detects position shifts\u2014ensures the two spacecraft remain precisely aligned; constant measuring of laser light is the same technology that will keep LISA, the next-generation gravitational wave observatory from NASA and ESA, in alignment at much greater distances<\/a>, 10 years from now.<\/p>\n

Proba-3\u2019s achievement marks a level of orbital choreography that\u2019s never been accomplished before. \u201cWe are talking about millimetric accuracy in range, and sub-millimetric in the lateral position,\u201d said project manager Damien Galano in an ESA release<\/a>. \u201cWe can\u2019t wait to see the completion of the instrument calibration and the first processed image of the Sun\u2019s corona.\u201d<\/p>\n

The solar science will be a remarkable feat in itself, but Proba-3\u2019s technology demonstration also helps prove out the precision measurements that will be crucial for future multi-spacecraft missions, such as LISA.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s marvelously precise science that sets the stage for astronomy\u2019s future. For now, ESA\u2019s Proba-3 will prepare for its research campaign\u2014tethered by lasers in a Kubrickian waltz, getting ready to stare straight into the Sun.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The European Space Agency\u2019s Proba-3 mission has achieved something no other mission\u2014or synchronized swimmer\u2014has before: autonomous, precision formation…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":85028,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3844],"tags":[37055,1159,40955,2823,70,413,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-85027","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-space","8":"tag-constellation","9":"tag-esa","10":"tag-low-earth-orbit","11":"tag-satellites","12":"tag-science","13":"tag-space","14":"tag-uk","15":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114473109555032910","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85027","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=85027"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85027\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/85028"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=85027"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=85027"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=85027"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}