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Technology-demonstrating microsatellite Proba-1 was launched into orbit 23 years ago this week \u2013 and is still working.<\/p>\n
Produced for ESA by Verhaert in Belgium, now (Redwire Space), Proba-1 was launched on 22 October 2001 on an Indian Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle by the Indian Space Research Organisation, ISRO.<\/p>\n
Among its many firsts, the Earth-observing Proba-1 was the first mission to use lithium-ion batteries in orbit, perform many guidance, navigation and control tasks autonomously \u2013 including multi-angle acquisitions of surface imaging targets \u2013 and make use of commercial off-the-shelf parts in place of purely space-qualified components.<\/p>\n
Proba-1\u2019s main CHRIS hyperspectral imager ceased operations at the end of 2022\u00a0after acquiring more than two decades of data, although it remains fully functional. Proba-3\u2019s secondary High Resolution Camera is still working as well.<\/p>\n
Originally intended to operate for just two years, the elderly mission is giving invaluable insights into the durability of onboard systems.<\/p>\n
Proba-1\u2019s mission will formally conclude with another first: it has become the assigned target for ESA\u2019s ClearSpace-1\u00a0debris-removal spacecraft to be taken down from orbit in 2028.<\/p>\n
Its name short for \u2018Project for Onboard Autonomy\u2019, as well as taken from the Latin for \u2018Let\u2019s try\u2019, Proba-1 was the first in a family of technology demonstration satellites, followed by Sun-observing Proba-2, the terrestrial vegetation monitoring Proba-V\u00a0and soon the double-satellite Proba-3, which will create artificial solar eclipses in orbit to observe the Sun\u2019s corona, the source of space weather.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n