https://twitter.com/jeff_foust/status/1583048671733878784QuoteESA director general Josef Aschbacher confirmed at a briefing that the agency has selected Falcon 9 to launch the Euclid mission next year. Another Falcon 9 will launch the Hera asteroid mission in 2024. Vega C will launch EarthCARE in 2024.
ESA director general Josef Aschbacher confirmed at a briefing that the agency has selected Falcon 9 to launch the Euclid mission next year. Another Falcon 9 will launch the Hera asteroid mission in 2024. Vega C will launch EarthCARE in 2024.
Hera is due for launch in October 2024.
The solar wings that will power ESA’s Hera asteroid mission for planetary defence as it ventures out to meet the Dimorphos asteroid have been cleared for flight. As part of its current test campaign at ESA’s ESTEC Test Centre in the Netherlands, the spacecraft commanded the deployment of the wings one at a time, as it will do in space directly after launch – known as a ‘hot deployment’.
While going through QAR, we move #HeraMission to a very special place to run our last tests. Electromagnetic compatibility. Hera’s asteroid deck is 🤩
14. How is Hera being launched?Hera will be launched in October 2024 by SpaceX Falcon 9 launcher from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, USA, with a launch window opening on 7 October and closing on 27 October.
https://www.esa.int/Space_Safety/Hera/Hera_Frequently_Asked_QuestionsQuote14. How is Hera being launched?Hera will be launched in October 2024 by SpaceX Falcon 9 launcher from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, USA, with a launch window opening on 7 October and closing on 27 October.
The spacecraft is currently undergoing its final system tests in the Netherlands in preparation for transport to its launch site in the USA. Meanwhile, in Germany, Hera’s Mission Control Team recently began launch preparations of their own.
One of these 5-m-long wings was added for Hera’s ‘cold deployment check’ – a manual unfolding process to confirm that the wing fits correctly. Because the solar wings have been designed to operate in weightlessness they were supported by a frame during this test deployment.
The science team behind ESA’s Hera asteroid mission is getting bigger. NASA has selected 12 participating scientists to join Europe’s first planetary defence mission, scheduled to launch this October.The goal of NASA’s Hera Participating Scientist Program is to support scientists at US institutions to participate in the Hera mission and address outstanding questions in planetary defence and near-Earth asteroid science. The participating scientist will become Hera science team members during their five-year tenure with the mission.
Like a pet being put in its kennel, ESA’s Hera asteroid mission for planetary defence was placed back in its transport container for the latest phase in its test campaign.The spacecraft is not due to leave the ESTEC Test Centre in Noordwijk, the Netherlands until the end of August. Instead its container became the venue for Hera’s global leak test, confirming the continued integrity of the spacecraft’s propulsion system following its 10-month long environmental test campaign.The principle is simple, explains Hera mission manager Ian Carnelli: “Hera’s propulsion tanks are loaded up with gaseous helium at 300 bar, or standard atmospheres. Next place the spacecraft inside its container, adding sensors to check if the interior pressure remains the same over the course of the day-long test.“Hera’s propulsion system has already undergone one leak test at the premises of Avio in Italy, back before the Propulsion Module was integrated with its Core Module. But since then Hera has undergone testing to replicate the stresses of launch and also operations in the vacuum of space, so we need to check no harm was done in the process.”For safety reasons the leak test took place inside the Test Centre, Large European Acoustic Facility, LEAF, which has already been the venue for the mission’s acoustic testing, reproducing the violent noise of take-off.Having passed this latest test, Hera and its accompanying CubeSats continue their functional testing, with launch due in early October.
Milani, a satellite developed by Tyvak International, is dedicated to the visual inspection and dust detection of the Didymos asteroid following the DART impact. It will be launched aboard the ESA’s Hera mothercraft in late 2024. A critical component of the Hera planetary defense mission, Milani will be one of the ESA’s first deep-space nanosatellites, along with being one of the first nanosatellites ever to orbit an asteroid. Tyvak International is fully responsible for Milani’s design, build, and mission operations.“Just few months ago we delivered Milani to the ESA and now it has completed the intense campaign of system level testing with Hera, along with the ground segment, and ensured the validation of all the interfaces and the end-to-end communication prior to the launch. We are very proud of the work done so far and the successful completion of the Qualification and Acceptance Review,” Margherita Cardi said.“Today we formally declared Milani qualified for flight. This is the result of extremely skilled professionals who invested extensive engineering, design, manufacturing, and testing hours. The ESA is grateful to every single member of the Tyvak International team for leading a complex European consortium in record time for this historical mission. I can’t wait to see the scientific wonders delivered by this technological marvel. With exploring a new world traveling over 400 million kilometers from our planet, sci-fi is becoming reality,” stated ESA’s Hera Project Manager Ian Carnelli.The Tyvak International team is currently preparing for the launch campaign activities scheduled for September 2024, in anticipation of the launch in October 2024.
Hera is currently completing its test campaign at ESA’s ESTEC Test Centre in the Netherlands, in preparation for transport to Cape Canaveral at the beginning of September for launch by SpaceX Falcon 9 the following month.
A Falcon 9 will launch the Hera asteroid rendezvous mission for the European Space Agency from pad 40 on October 7 at 10:52 a.m. EDT.
The day has arrived for @ESA_Hera to leave #ESTEC for good. We worked tirelessly for you, we cried, we laughed, we argued and we cheered. We will miss you ❤️
Cargo made it safely to airport ✈️
