\u00ae in high-performance optical instrumentation. Our capability to produce instruments in series will also be a real asset in the project\u2019s success.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\nLISA (Laser Interferometer Space Antenna) is a unique space exploration mission by the European Space Agency (ESA) designed to detect gravitational waves directly from space. This space observatory will detect the tiniest distortions in spacetime caused by gravitational waves generated by the acceleration of massive objects, as predicted by Albert Einstein\u2019s theory of general relativity in 1916, with a sensitivity and within a very low frequency range (between 0.1 mHz and 100 mHz), inaccessible to existing ground-based measurement facilities such as LIGO in the United States and VIRGO in Europe, due to their limited size and seismic interferences.<\/p>\n
The LISA mission will provide a new opportunity to understand the early universe that existed before the formation of stars and galaxies, as well as celestial phenomena such as the interaction of compact stars or the merger of supermassive black holes at the centers of galaxies.<\/p>\n
LISA consists of a constellation of three satellites, each spaced 2.5 million kilometers apart, forming an equilateral triangle and each carrying two test masses. These three satellites are linked by six laser beams, thus forming a massive optical interferometer. These inter-satellite laser beams will measure the displacement of these masses with an accuracy on the order of a picometer (smaller than an atom).<\/p>\n
The LISA mission satellites benefit from the experience gained during the LISA Pathfinder program, launched in 2015, which successfully demonstrated the ability to maintain test masses in a state of \u201cfree fall\u201d with exceptional precision. The same precision propulsion system, also used for ESA\u2019s Gaia and Euclid missions, will ensure that each satellite keeps the laser interferometer beams pointed toward the other satellites with the utmost precision.<\/p>\n
LISA will employ advanced laser interferometry measurement techniques to study astrophysical phenomena involving massive and distant systems, thereby offering unprecedented opportunities to explore and understand our universe. The three satellites are scheduled to launch in 2035 aboard an Ariane 6 rocket.<\/p>\n
Thales Alenia Space will provide prime contractor OHB System AG with several mission-critical elements, including the spacecraft avionics and control software, the telecommunication system, and the drag-free and attitude control system (DFACS). The joint venture will be responsible for the design, manufacture, assembly, integration, and testing of the propulsion subsystem for the LISA mission. Thales Alenia Space is also responsible for ensuring the exceptional electromagnetic, radiation, and self-gravity operational environment for the payload, essential to mission performance, for which Thales Alenia Space is also managing the budgets.<\/p>\n
Thales Alenia Space in Turin, Italy, as member of the LISA Core Team makes use of the experience and design solutions inherited from the five-year study phase led by Thales Alenia Space as the prime contractor. Our facility, in Gorgonzola, Italy, will develop the On-Board Computer and the Mass Memory in the same integrated unit. In the United Kingdom, the company is supplying the propulsion system, while France is responsible for developing the telescopes in collaboration with Thales SESO\u00ae. Our teams in Switzerland are involved in developing part of the instrument’s electronics and of the Constellation Acquisition System for LISA.<\/p>\n
Leonardo is also contributing with its technologies to the LISA mission with some key equipment, such as the micro propulsion assemblies, a highly precise system of thrusters used to control the satellite\u2019s attitude with extreme accuracy. Other company sites will also have the opportunity to contribute to the LISA mission, supplying spacecraft subsystems or equipment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Thales Alenia Space, the joint venture between Thales (67%) and Leonardo (33%), announces the signing of a \u20ac26.1 million phase 1 contract with the European Space Agency (ESA) related to the development of LISA\u2019s telescopes. Made up of three satellites, the LISA (Laser Interferometer Space Antenna) mission will be the first European space observatory capable […]<\/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":[26,25,20],"class_list":["post-1518","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-ground","tag-launch","tag-satellite"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1518"}],"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=1518"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1518\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1518"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1518"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1518"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"Thales](\"https:\/\/cdn.satnow.com\/news\/s_153_639136520741753475.webp\")
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