With the Proba-3, GMV revolutionizes precision formation flying

On December 5 at 11:34 CET (16:04 local time), the European Space Agency (ESA) Proba-3 mission was successfully launched from the Indian Space Research Organisation's (ISRO) Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, India. 

The mission consists of two satellites, the Coronographer and the Occulter, which will fly at a distance of 150 meters. The main aim is to demonstrate the feasibility of advanced formation flying technologies by creating a virtual solid structure in space to carry out detailed observations of the solar corona. One of the satellites will block the Sun's light, as in an eclipse, so that the other can study the solar corona more effectively.

Proba-3 is an ESA mission developed and built under the industrial leadership of Sener, in close collaboration with a consortium of 40 companies from 14 countries. GMV is playing a crucial role in this mission with a critical role in both the development of onboard systems and ground infrastructures. 

GMV is responsible for the Formation Flying Subsystem (FFS), the most innovative and critical component of the mission. This subsystem includes the design, implementation, and validation of the onboard software in a simulation environment that replicates the onboard computer and electrical interfaces. The FFS maintains the necessary precision and stability between the two satellites, allowing them to function as a virtual rigid structure with millimeter precision in position and arc-second precision in orientation. In the FFS GMV Spain is working together with Sener, which is responsible for the formation control function, and with NGC Aerospace in Canada, which is responsible for the attitude and orbit control subsystem (AOCS). 

In addition, GMV in Poland has designed and validated the onboard function for calculating relative positioning based on GPS measurements.

GMV has also developed the ground system responsible for flight dynamics verification (Flight Dynamics System or FDS). This system is responsible for orbit determination, event prediction and maneuver calculation, verifying that the satellites maintain formation throughout the mission, and it will provide support to operations during the initial, most critical phases.

With a lifetime of two years, Proba-3 will be a milestone in space exploration owing to its innovative approach to formation flying and because of the sensors it uses. Most operations on Proba-3 will be carried out in a fully autonomous manner, with the satellites coordinating their own operations based on a predefined timeline. 

This unique and innovative technology will enable the mission to make unprecedented precision observations, thus opening new frontiers in astronomy, geodesy and earth observation, while allowing for the creation of virtual infrastructures and instruments in space, which would revolutionize access to and use of space.

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