Olympic Games 2012: Proba-1 microsat snaps Olympic neighbourhood

Hi My Friends: A VUELO DE UN QUINDE EL BLOG., This Olympics has been watched from all over the world – and beyond. Benefiting from a cloudless sky, this view of London’s Olympic Park was captured by the smallest imager aboard ESA’s smallest mission: the High Resolution Camera on the Proba-1 microsatellite.

 Great Britain's gold medalists stand on the roof of Team GB House to celebrate on the last day of the Olympics. Photograph: Georgie Gillard/NOPP

 Proba-1 HRC image of London Olympic Park neighbourhood

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 The London Olympic Park including Olympic Stadium is visible towards the base of this Proba-1 High Resolution Camera image of East London, acquired on 11 August 2012. The 5-m resolution black and white image covers 25 sq km. 

Credits: ESA

 This Olympics has been watched from all over the world – and beyond. Benefiting from a cloudless sky, this view of London’s Olympic Park was captured by the smallest imager aboard ESA’s smallest mission: the High Resolution Camera on the Proba-1 microsatellite.

The Olympic Park, dominated by the circular Olympic Stadium, is visible towards the base of this 5 m-resolution image, with Victoria Park to its west and Hackney Marsh to the northwest.

This image was acquired by the High Resolution Camera (HRC). This black and white digital camera incorporates a Cassegrain telescope miniaturised to fit aboard Proba-1. Orbiting at 720 km altitude, the entire satellite’s volume is less than a cubic metre.

HRC operates alongside Proba-1’s larger CHRIS (Compact High Resolution Imaging Spectrometer) hyperspectral imager, which returns 15 m-resolution scenes across a programmable selection of up to 62 spectral bands, from a variety of viewing angles. This HRC image was acquired on 11 August. 

 Marking 10 years in orbit in October 2011, Proba-1, ESA's first Project for On Board Autonomy micro-satellite, demonstrates the potential and feasibility of small satellites for advanced scientific and Earth observation missions 

Credits: ESA

 About Proba-1

Operational for more than a decade, Proba-1 was the first in ESA’s series of satellites aimed at providing in-orbit testing of new space technologies. Smaller than a cubic metre, Proba-1’s many experiments include the compact HRC, acquiring monochromatic images with an area of 25 sq km.

Proba stands for ‘Project for Onboard Autonomy’ – both cameras are largely autonomous. Controllers at ESA’s Redu station in Belgium send up the location to be imaged – latitude, longitude and altitude – then the satellite itself does the rest, lining up its instruments with its target on the ground.
 

Proba-1 was launched back in October 2001 as an experimental mission but is still going strong, having since been reassigned to ESA’s Earth observation team. This year a software fix returned its radiation-damaged star trackers to full operations.

In November 2009 Proba-1 was joined in orbit by Proba-2, focused on solar monitoring. Proba-V, to monitor global vegetation, is due to launch next year.

 ESA

Guillermo Gonzalo Sánchez Achutegui

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