Built by OHB Italia as system prime contractor, PRISMA (PRecursore IperSpettrale della Missione Applicativa) was transported to French Guiana aboard a chartered 747 cargo aircraft – touching down at Félix Eboué Airport earlier this month, then travelling by road to the Spaceport to begin processing.

Supporting the scientific community

PRISMA – which will weigh approximately 900 kg. at liftoff – is fitted with an innovative electro-optical instrument combining a hyperspectral sensor with a medium-resolution panchromatic camera.

This type of combined instrument offers the advantages of conventional observation (based on the recognition of geometric characteristics of a scene) coupled with the ability to determine the chemical and physical characteristics of the objects present in the scene, using the hyperspectral sensor.

The scientific community and other users will be able to employ these capabilities for a wide range of applications, including – but not limited to – environmental monitoring, resource management, identification and classification of crops, and the efforts to limit pollution.

A fast-paced 2019 for Arianespace

The March mission with PRISMA is designated Flight VV14, signifying the 14^th launch of the lightweight Vega – which joins Arianespace’s medium-lift Soyuz and heavyweight Ariane 5 in a complete launch vehicle family to orbit commercial, governmental, institutional, scientific and experimental payloads.

The company’s fast-paced operational schedule in 2019 will include up to 12 missions using the three highly-capable launchers. Arianespace’s first mission in 2019 – Ariane 5 Flight VA247, carrying Saudi Geostationary Satellite 1/Hellas Sat 4 and GSAT-31 – is scheduled for a February 5 liftoff from the Spaceport.

Quelle: arianespace

----

Update: 28.01.2019

.

OneWeb Satellites has shipped first satellites for the OneWeb constellation to launch site

Toulouse, France, - OneWeb Satellites, a joint venture between Airbus and OneWeb, today announced the delivery of the first satellites for the OneWeb constellation.

The satellites were manufactured at the OneWeb Satellites facility on the Airbus Defence and Space Toulouse site and the first six have been shipped to Kourou for launch.  The first launch of the mega constellation is scheduled for 19 February 2019 on a Soyuz rocket - the beginning of a long series.

With this generation of satellites, OneWeb Satellites is entering a new chapter in the story that started three years ago. “Our team is transforming the space industry and we are in the midst of demonstrating we can deliver on our promises,” said Tony Gingiss, OneWeb Satellites CEO.

OneWeb Satellites will now turn its focus to ramping up production of the full constellation of satellites in its new factory in Florida, demonstrating once again the agility of this JV.

OneWeb Satellites is a joint venture between OneWeb, a global communications company whose mission is to provide Internet to everybody, everywhere, and Airbus with its first order to include the production of ultra-high performance communications satellites. The Toulouse OneWeb Satellites facility is being used to validate the innovative production methods necessary to manufacture these satellites at a scale never achieved before, de-risk any potential issues, and lay the framework for the larger multi-line OneWeb Satellites factory near the Kennedy Space Center, Florida. The satellites, weigh approximately 150 kg and will operate in near-polar, 1,200km LEO orbit.

Quelle: Airbus

----

Update: 14.02.2019

.

The Italian Space Agency’s PRISMA Earth observation satellite is “fit” for its Arianespace Vega launch

The PRISMA satellite on Arianespace’s upcoming Vega mission has completed a key step in its pre-launch checkout process, which will enable this Italian Earth observation platform to be orbited in mid-March from French Guiana.

During activity in the Spaceport’s payload processing facilities, PRISMA (PRecursore IperSpettrale della Missione Applicativa) underwent its successful fit-check – a milestone in the preparation campaign that validated this spacecraft’s compatibility with the adapter that is to serve as the payload interface with Vega.

The mission with PRISMA is designated Flight VV14, signifying the 14^th launch of the lightweight Vega vehicle – which joins Arianespace’s medium-lift Soyuz and heavyweight Ariane 5 in operations from French Guiana for a complete launcher family to orbit commercial, governmental, institutional, scientific and experimental payloads.

A wide range of applications for PRISMA

PRISMA – which will be operated by the Italian Space Agency (ASI) – was built by OHB Italia on a dedicated platform hosting the payload supplied by Leonardo Airborne and Space Systems. It is fitted with an innovative electro-optical instrument combining a hyperspectral sensor with a medium-resolution panchromatic camera.

This type of combined instrument offers the advantages of conventional observation (based on the recognition of geometric characteristics of a scene) coupled with the ability to determine the chemical and physical characteristics of the objects present in the scene, using the hyperspectral sensor.

The scientific community and other users will be able to employ these capabilities for a wide range of applications, including – but not limited to – environmental monitoring, resource management, identification and classification of crops, and the efforts to limit pollution.

Quelle: arianespace

----

Update: 20.03.2019

.