{"id":14443,"date":"2017-08-02T19:53:46","date_gmt":"2017-08-02T11:53:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/vega-launcher-achieves-on-target-deployment-of-earth-imaging-satellites\/"},"modified":"2017-08-02T19:53:46","modified_gmt":"2017-08-02T11:53:46","slug":"vega-launcher-achieves-on-target-deployment-of-earth-imaging-satellites","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/vega-launcher-achieves-on-target-deployment-of-earth-imaging-satellites\/","title":{"rendered":"Vega launcher achieves on-target deployment of Earth-imaging satellites"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"678\" height=\"381\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/faFo1jbjRxs?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Firing off a launch pad on the fringes of the Amazon rainforest, a European Vega rocket climbed into space Tuesday night and deployed a new optical surveillance craft for the Italian military and a French-Israeli environmental satellite to monitor vegetation, snow cover and coastal waterways.<\/p>\n<p>The Optsat 3000 and Ven\u00b5s satellites lifted off at 0158:33 GMT Wednesday (9:58:33 p.m. EDT; 10:58:33 p.m. French Guiana time Tuesday) on the 10th flight of a Vega rocket, a four-stage booster primarily developed and manufactured in Italy.<\/p>\n<p>The two satellites, both built by Israel Aerospace Industries, were paired together to share the Vega rocket launch by Arianespace, the French company charged with managing commercial missions from the Guiana Space Center, a remote outpost on the northeastern shore of South America.<\/p>\n<p>Roaring into the late night sky with nearly 700,000 pounds of thrust, the 98-foot-tall (30-meter) Vega launcher turned north from French Guiana and soared over the Atlantic Ocean, Bermuda and Canada as its three solid-fueled rocket motors fired in quick succession in the first seven minutes of the mission.<\/p>\n<p>A fourth stage engine burning liquid hydrazine fuel ignited four times, first to place the Optsat 3000 satellite into a planned 280-mile-high (450-kilometer) polar orbit tilted 97 degrees to the equator. The 811-pound (368-kilogram) spacecraft, destined for use by the Italian military, separated from the Vega rocket\u2019s upper stage around 43 minutes after liftoff.<\/p>\n<p>The second pair of upper stage engine firings aimed to maneuver the rocket into a higher 447-mile-high (720-kilometer) orbit with an inclination of 98 degrees for the deployment of Ven\u00b5s, a scientific research satellite jointly developed by the French and Israeli space agencies.<\/p>\n<p>Launch controllers announced the Ven\u00b5s satellite released from the Vega rocket more than an hour-and-a-half into the mission, and Arianespace said both payloads were placed into accurate orbits.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cArianespce is delighted to confirm that Optsat 3000 and Ven\u00b5s have been safely separated in their targeted sun-synchronous orbits,\u201d said Stephane Israel, chairman and CEO of Arianespace. \u201cFor the second time this year, and the 10th since its debut, success is here for Vega and its customers.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Optsat 3000 and Ven\u00b5s were expected to fly over an Israeli ground station around five hours after the launch, giving engineers an opportunity to verify both satellites are healthy following their trip into space. The first images from each satellite should be downlinked to the ground within a week or so, officials said.<\/p>\n<p>In work since 2005, the Ven\u00b5s mission is a 50-50 collaboration between Israel and France.<\/p>\n<p>The 582-pound (264-kilogram) spacecraft carries a French-supplied \u201csuper-spectral\u201d color camera sensitive in 12 bands ranging from blue to near-infrared. Ven\u00b5s will take pictures of vegetation, glaciers, coastlines and other features from its high orbital perch.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_26211\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-26211\" style=\"width: 676px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-26211\" src=\"https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/P50199_MD.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"676\" height=\"452\" srcset=\"https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/P50199_MD.jpg 1500w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/P50199_MD-300x201.jpg 300w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/P50199_MD-768x514.jpg 768w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/P50199_MD-678x453.jpg 678w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/P50199_MD-30x20.jpg 30w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 676px) 100vw, 676px\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-26211\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Artist\u2019s concept of the Ven\u00b5s satellite in orbit. Credit: CNES<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cVen\u00b5s \u2026 will play a major role in the fight against climate change,\u201d said Jean-Yves Le Gall, president of CNES, the French space agency.<\/p>\n<p>Offering a twist on a line often repeated by French President Emmanuel Macron, Le Gall said: \u201cVen\u00b5s will help make our planet great again.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Scientists will point Ven\u00b5s\u2019s camera toward 110 areas of interest in forests, croplands and nature reserves around the world, according to CNES. No other satellite currently in orbit can survey the same locations with the resolution and frequency of the Ven\u00b5s mission, a benefit gained at the expense of global coverage, officials said.<\/p>\n<p>The United States has 24 percent of the Ven\u00b5s mission\u2019s targets, more than any other nation.<\/p>\n<p>Researchers will track plant growth, snow cover, glacial movements, and sediments in coastal estuaries with the Ven\u00b5s satellite. Scientists will analyze the mission\u2019s data output to study how environmental and human factors influence vegetation health.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cVen\u00b5s will be used to model the influence of human activities or environmental factors, global warming, on the surface reflectances,\u201d said Pierric Ferrier, Ven\u00b5s project manager at CNES. \u201cThe idea is to be able to build models to study the evolution and prevent the effect of global warming and allow sustainable development.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe hydric stress of vegetation can be observed in some of the spectral bands of Ven\u00b5s, then you will be able to monitor exactly the need of water for your plants, and in the infrared domain also you can monitor the presence of water in the soil or not,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEach type of plant has its own spectral signature. We are able to segregate and isolate some of the crops we want to observe, and we can combine some spectral bands and get the spectral signature of each crop.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Officials from the Israel Space Agency and CNES said each nation contributed approximately $40 million to the Ven\u00b5s mission. Adding price of the launch, the mission\u2019s total cost exceeds $100 million.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat is really unique in Ven\u00b5s is the convergence of three things,\u201d Ferrier said. \u201cThe good resolution of 5 meters (16 feet), the spectral richness of the camera in 12 bands, and the third is revisit \u2014 two days.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cExisting Earth observation satellites observe pre-defined zones of interest every 10 to 15 days,\u201d Ferrier told Spaceflight Now in a phone interview. \u201cAt this frequency, you cannot observe quickly for phenomena such as plant growth, variation of snow cover, and various types of phenomena which need constant, frequent observation. So Ven\u00b5s will be able to distinguish between two images taken at two-day intervals, and see what has evolved quickly between the two images.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A software algorithm developed for the Ven\u00b5s mission will help scientists remove clouds and aerosols from the satellite\u2019s imagery, revealing minute changes on the surface.<\/p>\n<p>Besides the satellite\u2019s primary camera, France is in charge of the mission\u2019s science data center and other ground systems. Israeli engineers built the satellite, the camera\u2019s telescope and a experimental plasma thruster to be tested in the second phase of the Ven\u00b5s mission.<\/p>\n<p>IAI built a nanosatellite that launched in February that is making experimental weather observations, but Opher Doron, head of IAI\u2019s space division, said Ven\u00b5s is \u201cthe first serious research satellite Israel has done.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s a very nicely run program between the two space agences, and we hope for many more,\u201d Doron said in an interview with Spaceflight Now.<\/p>\n<p>After a two-and-a-half-year Earth observation campaign, Ven\u00b5s\u2019s altitude will be lowered to approximately 250 miles (410 kilometers) to test the low-power electric thruster\u2019s ability to counteract the effect of atmospheric drag and maintain the satellite\u2019s orbit.<\/p>\n<p>Developed by Rafael, an Israeli defense contractor, the Hall effect thruster design could be used on future Israeli-built reconnaissance satellites.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s a very exciting new capability that we plan to migrate on to other satellites to give us longer life and lower altitudes,\u201d Doron said. \u201cThis is designed to give us a flight-proven capability.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ven\u00b5s\u2019s launch was delayed several years, and Ferrier said the schedule slips were primarily caused by problems obtaining filters for the satellite\u2019s camera from Materion Barr, a Massachusetts-based company. The filters were restricted under the U.S. government\u2019s ITAR arms control laws until the hardware was finally delivered for Ven\u00b5s, delaying the launch approximately 18 months, Ferrier said.<\/p>\n<p>Problems arranging the satellite\u2019s launch triggered another delay, he said, until mission managers could find another spacecraft heading to a similar polar orbit that would be ready for liftoff at the same time as Ven\u00b5s.<\/p>\n<p>The co-passenger ended up being Optsat 3000, another Israeli-made satellite.<\/p>\n<p>Optsat 3000 is Italy\u2019s first optical surveillance satellite, joining a fleet of Italian radar imaging craft already in orbit. The $182 million satellite, designed for a lifetime of at least seven years, carries a Jupiter remote sensing camera provided by Israel-based Elbit Systems Ltd. capable of resolving objects on the ground smaller than a half-meter (20 inches).<\/p>\n<p>\u201cToday, we set the pace for better cooperation in defense,\u201d said Gen. Enzo Vecciarelli, Chief of Staff of the Italian Air Force. \u201cThat\u2019s something we really need right now.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_26212\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-26212\" style=\"width: 675px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-26212\" src=\"https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/vv10-OPTSAT-3000.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"675\" height=\"594\" srcset=\"https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/vv10-OPTSAT-3000.jpg 1195w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/vv10-OPTSAT-3000-300x264.jpg 300w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/vv10-OPTSAT-3000-768x676.jpg 768w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/vv10-OPTSAT-3000-678x597.jpg 678w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/vv10-OPTSAT-3000-30x26.jpg 30w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 675px) 100vw, 675px\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-26212\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Artist\u2019s concept of the Optsat 3000 satellite. Credit: IAI<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The Italian Ministry of Defense ordered the Optsat 3000 satellite from Israel Aerospace Industries as part of a reciprocal contract arrangement, in exchange for the Israeli military\u2019s purchase of Italian-made jet trainers.<\/p>\n<p>Telespazio acts as prime contractor for the Optsat 3000 program, and OHB Italy reserved the satellite\u2019s launch on a Vega rocket with Arianespace.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOptsat is our very high-end electro-optical satellite,\u201d Doron said in an interview with Spaceflight Now. \u201cIt\u2019s going to be flying at 450 kilometers. It\u2019s got superb resolution at that altitude.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Optsat 3000\u2019s imaging strength, enabled in part by its relatively low-altitude orbit, apparently bests the resolution offered by spy satellites owned by other European governments, and matches the world\u2019s best commercial Earth observation spacecraft.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think it\u2019s probably one of the more advanced satellites around,\u201d Doron said.<\/p>\n<p>Without disclosing the exact resolution of Optsat 3000\u2019s images, Doron said it will offer \u201cWorldView-class\u201d image sharpness from its operating orbit. DigitalGlobe\u2019s newest WorldView satellites have cameras capable to resolving features as small as 31 centimeters, or 12 inches, on the ground.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe generic Optsats offer 50 centimeters (resolution) from 600 kilometers, although this one will be better because it\u2019s lower, so it\u2019s super-high resolution,\u201d Doron said. \u201cThis satellite is also optimized to cover very large areas. It\u2019s very agile, so it can cover lots of targets in many areas using different scanning modes and different scanning directions.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Doron described Optsat 3000 as a \u201ctool designed for practical intelligence users.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Arianespace\u2019s next launch is set for Sept. 1, when a heavy-lift Ariane 5 rocket will send two commercial communications satellites to orbit for Intelsat and Japan\u2019s Broadcasting Satellite System Corp., or B-SAT.<\/p>\n<p>The next flight by a Vega rocket is scheduled for no earlier than Nov. 7 with a military reconnaissance satellite for the government of Morocco.<\/p>\n<p><b><i>Email the author.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Follow Stephen Clark on Twitter: @StephenClark1.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Firing off a launch pad on the fringes of the Amazon rainforest, a European Vega rocket climbed into space Tuesday night and deployed a new optical surveillance craft for the Italian military and a French-Israeli environmental satellite to monitor vegetation, snow cover and coastal waterways. The Optsat 3000 and Ven\u00b5s satellites lifted off at 0158:33 [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[498,1244,690,159,2185,1775,242,1773],"class_list":["post-14443","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-arianespace","tag-avio","tag-cnes","tag-earth-observation","tag-elbit","tag-electric-propulsion","tag-france","tag-guiana-space-center"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14443"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14443"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14443\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14443"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14443"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14443"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}