Swarm final 'dress rehearsal' countdown, Plesetsk cosmodrome

Bruno Bergaglio, ESA’s launch campaign manager, during the final rehearsal for Swarm launch, 19 November 2013, practising the complete sequence from before launch until acquisition of signal.

Rehersal included controllers at the Mission Control Centre, Plesetsk; the Operations Control Centre, at ESA/ESOC; and the ground tracking stations.

ESA’s Swarm mission is ready for launch on a Russian Rockot on 22 November at 12:02 GMT (13:02 CET), from the Plesetsk cosmodrome. The three-satellite Swarm mission aims to unravel one of the most mysterious aspects of our planet: the magnetic field.

Swarm is ESA’s fourth Earth Explorer mission, following GOCE, SMOS and CryoSat.