ESA : Estonia signs up to Sentinel agreement .- Estonia se inscribe en un acuerdo con Sentinel (the Copernicus Sentinel satellites).......

http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Observing_the_Earth/Copernicus/Estonia_signs_up_to_Sentinel_agreement

Estonia

13 September 2016 ESA and Enterprise Estonia have signed an arrangement that gives one of ESA’s newest Member States access to data from the Copernicus Sentinel satellites.

With four Copernicus satellites – Sentinel-1A, Sentinel-1B, Sentinel-2A and Sentinel-3A – now in orbit, a wealth of complementary imagery and data is being delivered for the Copernicus services.

Led by the EC, the Copernicus programme was put in place to manage the environment and respond to the challenges of a changing world.

As part of the programme, ESA is responsible for the ‘space component’, which not only includes the Sentinel satellites, but also the network of receiving stations and processing centres through which data are made available for the range of Copernicus services.

Estonia is a new ESA Member State, formally joining the Agency in September 2015.

While data from the Sentinel satellites and missions contributing to the Copernicus programme are freely accessible for the Copernicus services, as well as to scientific and other users, the Collaborative Ground Segment Agreement signed today will facilitate Sentinel data exploitation in Estonia.

 

Estonia signs up for Sentinel data

 

The agreement was signed by Josef Aschbacher, ESA’s Director of Earth Observation Programmes, and Madis Võõras, Head of the Space Office Enterprise Estonia.

It not only guarantees that Estonia has access to data, but also ensures that ESA provides technical advice on setting up data acquisition and dissemination, and makes data processing and archiving software available to national initiatives.

Josef Aschbacher said, “We are thrilled to welcome Estonia to our expanding collaborative agreement and this is another important step for Copernicus.

“We are looking forward to seeing the benefits this will bring to a country that is already strong in Earth observation science, applications and data processing.”

Madis Võõras added, “Today marks an important milestone for Estonia. We have many areas of interest, such as agriculture, forestry and maritime surveillance, to name but a few, which will greatly benefit from this cooperation.” 

Estonia is the 12th state to sign the agreement following Greece, Norway, Italy, Finland, Germany, France, UK, Sweden and Canada.

ESA
Guillermo Gonzalo Sánchez Achutegui
ayabaca@gmail.com
ayabaca@hotmail.com
ayabaca@yahoo.com
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ESA : Copernicus Sentinel-1A satellite hit by space particle.- Copérnico Sentinel-1A satélite fue golpeado por una partícula espacial.....

http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Observing_the_Earth/Copernicus/Sentinel-1/Copernicus_Sentinel-1A_satellite_hit_by_space_particle

Ingenieros de la ESA han descubierto que un panel solar en el satélite Sentinel-1A Copérnico fue alcanzado por una partícula milímetros de tamaño en órbita el 23 de agosto. Gracias a cámaras de a bordo, los controladores de tierra fueron capaces de identificar la zona afectada. Hasta ahora, no ha habido ningún efecto sobre las operaciones de rutina del satélite.................

                                

Before and after: fragment impact in space

Copernicus Sentinel-1A satellite hit by space particle

31 August 2016

ESA engineers have discovered that a solar panel on the Copernicus Sentinel-1A satellite was hit by a millimetre-size particle in orbit on 23 August. Thanks to onboard cameras, ground controllers were able to identify the affected area. So far, there has been no effect on the satellite’s routine operations.

A sudden small power reduction was observed in a solar array of Sentinel-1A, orbiting at 700 km altitude, at 17:07 GMT on 23 August. Slight changes in the orientation and the orbit of the satellite were also measured at the same time.

Following a preliminary investigation, the operations team at ESA’s control centre in Darmstadt, Germany suspected a possible impact by space debris or micrometeoroid on the solar wing.  

Detailed analyses of the satellite’s status were performed to understand the cause of this power loss. In addition, the engineers decided to activate the board cameras to acquire pictures of the array. These cameras were originally carried to monitor the deployment of the solar wings, which occurred just a few hours after launch in April 2014, and were not intended to be used afterwards.

Following their switch-on, one camera provided a picture that clearly shows the strike on the solar panel.

The power reduction is relatively small compared to the overall power generated by the solar wing, which remains much higher than what the satellite requires for routine operations.

 

Sentinel-1

 

“Such hits, caused by particles of millimetre size, are not unexpected,” notes Holger Krag, Head of the Space Debris Office at ESA’s establishment in Darmstadt, Germany.

“These very small objects are not trackable from the ground, because only objects greater than about 5 cm can usually be tracked and, thus, avoided by manoeuvring the satellites.

“In this case, assuming the change in attitude and the orbit of the satellite at impact, the typical speed of such a fragment, plus additional parameters, our first estimates indicate that the size of the particle was of a few millimetres.

“Analysis continues to obtain indications on whether the origin of the object was natural or man-made. The pictures of the affected area show a diameter of roughly 40 cm created on the solar array structure, confirming an impact from the back side, as suggested by the satellite’s attitude rate readings.”

This event has no effect on the satellite’s routine operations, which continue normally.

The Sentinel-1 satellites, part of the European Union’s Copernicus Programme, are operated by ESA on behalf of the European Commission.

ESA
Guillermo Gonzalo Sánchez Achutegui
ayabaca@gmail.com
ayabaca@hotmail.com
ayabaca@yahoo.com
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