* Astronomy

Blobrana · L

RE: SMOS mission

Blobrana · L

SMOS satellite

Blobrana · L

RE: SMOS mission

Blobrana · L

SMOS team gears up for launch campaign
With launch just two months away, members of the SMOS team are currently in Russia inspecting the facilities where the launch campaign will soon get underway to prepare the ESA's water mission for liftoff on 2 November.

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Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity

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Blobrana · L

ESA's next Earth Explorer, SMOS, has just passed the all-important Flight Acceptance Review, signifying that all the elements that make up the mission are in place for launch later this year. The satellite can now be prepared for its journey to the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in northern Russia.
The Flight Acceptance Review is a formal procedure to ensure that all the mission elements are in order and ready for launch. These elements not only include the satellite, but also the readiness of the launcher and interfaces with the satellite, flight operations to control the satellite in obit and carry out calibration activities, data processing for the handling and distribution of data products to the users, and also plans and preparations for the launch campaign.

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A three stage Eurockot launch vehicle is scheduled to launch the Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity satellite (SMOS) and ESA's Project for On-Board Autonomy (Proba) 2 microsatellite from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome, Russia, in September, 2009.
SMOS will gather data on soil moisture and oceans salinity.

Blobrana · L

Following confirmation from Eurockot Launch Services that they will launch ESA's SMOS mission on 9 September this year, the satellite has just been taken out of storage - providing an opportunity for the media to view the satellite before it is prepared for shipment to the launch site in Russia.
The Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS) mission is the next Earth Explorer in line for liftoff after the successful launch of the Gravity field and steady-state Ocean Circulation Explorer (GOCE) six weeks ago. After being in storage at Thales Alenia Space in the south of France for almost a year, the SMOS satellite has just been unveiled and presented to the media at a one-day event held on 24 April.

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