On 6 August, after a decade-long voyage in pursuit of its object, Rosetta became the first ever spacecraft to orbit a comet. The main goal of the European Space Agency (ESA)’s Rosetta mission is to help us understand the origin and evolution of the Solar System. In particular it will investigate the role played by comets in bringing water to the Earth and maybe even life itself. According to the European Space Agency’s website, ht.ly/Ajj9N it would have been impossible for Rosetta to reach its destination without the ‘spacecraft navigators’, i.e., the flight dynamics experts who predict and determine its trajectory, prepare orbit maneuvers and determine its attitude. No less than 11 of these crucial “space navigators” are GMV colleagues, forming part of the personnel posted to Germany to play a key part in mission control operations. But GMV has also played a key role in the mission analysis stage. Among other activities it is participating too in the planning of scientific operations, planning control of three instruments and preparation of the operations for the main mission phase (the comet phase). GMV personnel are also maintaining the tools for calculating necessary illumination and visibility criteria to decide the comet landing point and the possible descent trajectories of the Philae soft touchdown lander, scheduled for 11 November. A total of 20 GMV employees have participated and are still participating from ESAC, ESOC and CNES in this mission, which many have qualified as a whole new chapter in the exploration of the Solar System.
Posted on: Mon, 18 Aug 2014 08:00:03 +0000
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