PROBA - ESA's New Mini Satellite

This programme presents PROBA, one of the tiniest ESA spacecraft ever built which is paving the way for future satellites of global proportions. The PROBA launch is currently scheduled for 18 October 2001. PROBA is the first satellite to operate in space virtually unaided, performing everyday tasks with little or no involvement from ground controllers. However, it not only has a mind of its own, it will also boast an extensive research programme, with its diverse range of scientific instruments - some of which have never before been used in space. What's more, the data from some of these instruments will be distributed to scientists on Earth via a web-server and the internet. The 5-minute A-roll contains split audio with an English guide track and is complemented by a longer B-roll with clean international sound.

The video includes the following:

0:30 PROBA is ESA’s first micro-satellite and it will hook into the internet. General introduction of PROBA, standing for “Project for Onboard Autonomy”: It is the first fully autonomous ESA spacecraft , and will operate in space virtually un-operated from ground, performing by itself all every-day task, such as navigation, payload and resource management, with little or no involvement from ESA ground control.

1:22 PROBA will also perform an extensive research programme with its diverse range of scientific instruments, some of which have never before been used in space. The data will distributed to scientist around the world via the Internet and an web server.

1:36 Richard Creasey, ESA Space Engineer, explains the primary objectives of PROBA

2:04 Introduction of the PROBA development.

2:11 It will be put into orbit 800km above the Earth, by an Indian launcher. There are five instruments aboard.

2:31The Compact High Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (CHRIS) instrument will be used to measure directional spectral reflectance of land areas, thus providing new biophysical and biochemical data, and information on land surfaces.

3:01 The Debris In-orbit Evaluator (DEBIE) instrument will provide information on space debris in low-Earth, Sun-synchronous orbit.

3:26 The Space Radiation Environment Monitor (SREM) instrument will be used to provide data on space weather and space environment.

3:40 There are also two imagers onboard. The Wide Angle Camera (WAC) is a miniaturised black-and-white camera that will be used for Earth observation, as well as for public relations and educational purposes. The High Resolution Camera (HRC) is a black and white camera with a miniaturised Cassegrain telescope.

3:48 The five PROBA instruments are controlled by a brand new computer system, five times as powerful as what is on the ESA SOHO satellite.

3:59 Richard Creasey explains how the data are stored onboard and send to the ESA ground stations art Kiruna or Redu. All images are stored on a server connected to the web, which then can be accessed by the users.

4:25 Specific requests by scientists are send from Redu ground station to PROBA. The satellite will then automatically calculate all necessary for the data takes.

4:42 PROBA is part of ESA’s research to use small spacecraft and to demonstrate that micro satellites can perform with in-orbit technology

5:02 The End