Proba 2 (pictured) was built by Verhaert Space, based in Kruibeke, East Flanders, which also supplied the Advanced Data and Power Management System computer. Although it is small, measuring only 60 x 60 x 80 centimetres, it contains 17 different technologies and material for four experiments looking at solar and space weather.
The satellite’s main target is the sun, and engineers from Verhaert operating from the European Space Agency’s (ESA) ground station at Redu were able to steer it using the satellite’s computer and orbit controls. The satellite’s two main instruments will look at the solar corona – a region extending one million kilometres above the surface, where temperatures reach two million degrees – and the ultraviolet radiation emitted by the sun.
“Now that the satellite is stabilised in solar observation mode, the two main instruments have been switched on, and a health check has been performed successfully,” the company said in a statement. “The data acquisition and processing systems located in Redu are also working well. The official delivery to ESA of the fully operational system can take place now that everything has been tested and aligned”.
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