Ariane 5 June 5, 2018Payload preparations advance for Arianespace’s Ariane 5 flight with BepiColomboThe multi-month payload preparation phase is making progress for the upcoming BepiColombo mission to planet Mercury, which will be launched later this year on an Arianespace Ariane 5 flight from the Spaceport.BepiColombo was developed in a joint effort of the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). It comprises three spacecraft modules and a sunshield, which were delivered along with ground support equipment and other essential hardware during a series of cargo flights in April and May.Following their arrival in French Guiana and subsequent transfer by road to the Spaceport’s S5 payload preparation facility, the modules – including the Mercury Planetary Orbiter (MPO), Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter (MMO) and Mercury Transfer Module (MTM) – were removed from their protective shipping containers for inspection. Afterward, they were switched on and battery tested, then fitted with mechanical and electrical ground support systems.Deep space exploration for BepiColomboAdditional activities to be performed include attaching solar wings to the three modules and testing their deployment mechanisms, dressing the spacecraft in protective insulation, installing the sunshield, conducting pressure tests, fueling and integration.The BepiColombo mission is designed to study and understand Mercury’s composition, geophysics, atmosphere, magnetosphere and history. After arriving at Mercury in late 2025, BepiColombo will have a nominal one-year duration with the possibility for an extension.Ariane 5’s launch of BepiColombo – which gets its name from Italian Professor Giuseppe (Bepi) Colombo – is designated VA245 in Arianespace’s launcher family numbering system.
BepiColombo’s Mercury Planetary Orbiter and Mercury Transfer Module undergo electrical testing during activity at the Spaceport.
Hand-sewn insulation blanketsReleased 12/06/2018 9:00 amCopyright ESA–B. GuillaumeDescriptionOne of the main activities in recent weeks for the BepiColombo team at Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou has been the installation of multi-layered insulation foils and sewing of high-temperature blankets on the Mercury Planetary Orbiter.The insulation is to protect the spacecraft from the extreme thermal conditions that will be experienced in Mercury orbit.While conventional multi-layered insulation appears gold-coloured, the upper layer of the module’s striking white high-temperature blanket provides the focus of this image.The white blankets are made from quartz fibres. Because the fabric is not electrically conductive, to control the build-up of electrostatic charge on the surface of the spacecraft, conducting threads have been woven through the outer layer every 10 cm. The edges of the outer blanket are hand-sewn together once installed on the module, as seen in this image.The face of the spacecraft the engineer is working on is the panel that will always look at Mercury’s surface and as such many of the science instruments are focused here. This includes the orbiter’s cameras and spectrometers, a laser altimeter and particle analyser. The panel also has fixtures to connect the module to the Transfer Module during the cruise to Mercury.The face of the spacecraft pointing to the left in this orientation is the spacecraft radiator, which will eventually be fitted with ‘fins’ designed to reflect heat directionally, allowing the spacecraft to fly at low altitude over the hot surface of the planet. Heat generated by spacecraft subsystems and payload components, as well as heat that comes from the Sun and Mercury and ‘leaks’ through the blankets into the spacecraft, will be conducted to the radiator by heat pipes and ultimately radiated into space.The oval shapes correlate to star trackers, used for navigation, while a spectrometer is connected with ground support equipment towards the top. At the back of this face, the magnetometer boom can be seen folded against the spacecraft – it has now also been fitted with multi-layered insulation.For more images of the launch preparations at Kourou visit the BepiColombo image gallery.Id 395288
We’re on the move! After our first months at the #Spaceport in the “processing area”, we’ve transferred to a different room for our upcoming chemical propulsion fueling activities
July 26, 2018 (JST) The International Mercury Exploration "BepiColombo" Launch Schedule Below is the launch schedule for BepiColombo, a leading Japan-Europe mission to Mercury. BepiColombo consists of two spacecraft - JAXA's MIO, the Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter and the Mercury Planetary Orbiter (MPO) of the European Space Agency (ESA). Both orbiters carried aboard Ariane 5 will cooperatively accomplish comprehensive observations of Mercury. Be informed of the following Ariane 5 launch schedule officially announced by Arianespace SA and ESA. Launch Time and Date: 22:45, local time in French Guinea, October 19, 2018 (10:45, Japan Standard Time, October 19, 2018) ...-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Publisher : Public Affairs Department Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) Ochanomizu sola city, 4-6 Kandasurugadai, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 101-8008 Japan
BEPICOLOMBO SCIENCE ORBITERS STACKED TOGETHER31 August 2018The two science orbiters of the joint ESA-JAXA BepiColombo mission are connected in their launch configuration and the European science orbiter and transport module have been given the go-ahead to be loaded with propellants.The mission completed its Qualification Acceptance Review in the last week, which confirms it is on track for its 19 October launch. The three-spacecraft mission is currently scheduled to launch on an Ariane 5 at 03:45 CEST (01:45 GMT) on 19 October, or 22:45 local time in Kourou on 18 October, with the launch window remaining open until 29 November.http://sci.esa.int/bepicolombo/60586-bepicolombo-science-orbiters-stacked-together/Image credit: ESA/CNES/Arianespace/Optique video du CSG – J. Odang
The BepiColombo spacecraft ‘stack’ is complete. ESA’s Mercury Transfer Module sits at the bottom, its two 15 m-long solar arrays folded for launch. It will use a combination of solar electric propulsion, chemical propulsion, and nine gravity assist flybys over seven years to deliver the two science orbiters that sit above, to Mercury.In the middle of the stack is ESA’s Mercury Planetary Orbiter, its 3.7 m wide radiator facing the viewer. The three red oval shapes indicate startrackers, which will be used for navigation.Most science instruments are mounted on the side of the spacecraft that will point at Mercury – the side clamped against the transfer module during cruise – but some instruments and sensors are located at the main radiator, and the magnetometer boom is folded above.On top is JAXA’s eight-sided Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter. The sunshield that will protect the module during the cruise phase will be added about a week before launch.Eight of the 11 instrument suites onboard the Mercury Planetary Orbiter and three out of five on the Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter can operate or partially operate during the cruise phase, and will take measurements during the two flybys of Venus, for example. Once at Mercury, the two orbiters will operate from different orbits to provide the most detailed study of the innermost planet date, from its interior to surface features, to its interaction with the solar wind.The complete spacecraft stack will be attached to the launch vehicle and sealed inside the fairing in the final week before launch. Roll-out of the Ariane 5 to the launch pad is anticipated about two days before launch.Launch is currently scheduled for 19 October 22:45 GFT local time, or 01:45 GMT / 03:45 CEST on 20 October. It will be the 101st launch of an Ariane 5.Details on how to follow online will be provided closer to the day.
Ariane 510/19/18 - 10:45 PM (GMT-03:00) Launch VA 245 BEPI COLOMBO
"BepiColombo" Launch Schedule ChangeSeptember 27, 2018 (JST)National Research and Development AgencyJapan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)Though Ariane 5 launch with BepiColombo mission explorers aboard was originally scheduled for 10:45 p.m., October 18, (local time in French Guinea) 2018, due to schedule adjustments the launch has moved later as follows:Launch Date: 10:45:28 p.m., October 19, 2018 (local time in French Guinea)(10:45:28 a.m., October 20, 2018 in Japan Time,)Reserved Launch Period: through November 29, 2018 (in local time in French Guinea)Location: Guiana Space Centre, Europe's spaceport in Kourou...