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#20 by bolun on 11 Jul, 2012 13:35
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BepiColombo Composite Spacecraft Mass Properties Measurements at ESTEC
10 Jul 2012
The mass properties of the BepiColombo Mercury Composite Spacecraft have been measured. This is the first time that the spacecraft structural and thermal model has been fully integrated, producing the configuration in which it will be launched and effect the transfer to Mercury.
http://sci.esa.int/science-e/www/object/index.cfm?fobjectid=50552
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#21 by bolun on 17 Aug, 2012 20:04
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Good vibrations for BepiColombo
17 August 2012
Mimicking the intense vibrations experienced by a satellite during launch, the engineering model of the BepiColombo mission to Mercury has been subjected to similar forces at ESA’s spacecraft test facilities.
http://www.esa.int/esaSC/SEMSTQYXP5H_index_0.html
BepiColombo vertical vibration test
BepiColombo horizontal vibration test
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#22 by bolun on 27 Aug, 2012 13:15
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The shock of separation
27 August 2012
The BepiColombo mission to Mercury has undergone a series of shock tests at ESA’s test facilities to replicate conditions it will experience during its intense ride into space. This video shows tests to mimic the moment it separates from the launch vehicle.
http://www.esa.int/esaSC/SEM4IA4Y96H_index_0.html
Simulating separation shock
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#23 by plutogno on 10 Sep, 2012 12:15
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anybody has a detailed timeline of BepiColombo (flybys etc.) after the latest delay?
the ESA mission site http://sci.esa.int/science-e/www/object/index.cfm?fobjectid=48871 only has the launch and arrival dates (15 August 2015 and 27 January 2022).
I have made a quick google search, but I have not found anything useful. most of the links date back to when BC was supposed to fly in 2014. -
#24 by nethegauner on 11 Sep, 2012 15:19
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anybody has a detailed timeline of BepiColombo (flybys etc.) after the latest delay?
One year after launch, the MCS will be back in Earth's vicinity to perform a gravity assist maneuver. Following that, two fly-bys at venus are planned to occur in 2016 with four Mercury fly-bys in the 2017 to 2019 time frame. Sorry, I do not have more specific dates for the 2015 launch scenario -- but how is that for a start? -
#25 by GClark on 11 Sep, 2012 18:03
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Does the plan still include phasing orbits and a Lunar flyby to depart Earth?
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#26 by plutogno on 11 Sep, 2012 18:05
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thanks everyone, but I was looking for more specific dates (at least month and year)
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#27 by bolun on 12 Sep, 2012 13:44
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anybody has a detailed timeline of BepiColombo (flybys etc.) after the latest delay?
the ESA mission site http://sci.esa.int/science-e/www/object/index.cfm?fobjectid=48871 only has the launch and arrival dates (15 August 2015 and 27 January 2022).
I have made a quick google search, but I have not found anything useful. most of the links date back to when BC was supposed to fly in 2014.
You have been looking very close.
http://sci.esa.int/science-e/www/object/index.cfm?fobjectid=47346QuoteKey mission dates
Date Mission event
15 August 2015 Launch
14 August 2016 Earth flyby
25 November 2017 First Venus flyby
18 July 2018 Second Venus flyby
15 February 2019 First Mercury flyby
07 November 2019 Second Mercury flyby
26 January 2021 Third Mercury flyby
08 March 2021 Fourth Mercury flyby
27 January 2022 Arrival at Mercury
27 April 2023 End of nominal mission
27 April 2024 End of extended mission -
#28 by bolun on 24 Dec, 2012 12:34
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December 20, 2012 Updated
BepiColombo: Development progressing smoothly
JAXA is performing a manufacturing test of the bus and the scientific equipment for the Mercury Magnetosphereric Orbiter (MMO) flight model.
Those devices whose manufacturing test has been completed are being installed into the satellite main body one by one. After all devices are assembled, the satellite will undergo further tests for about a year including the electrical system test and mechanical environment test.
http://www.jaxa.jp/projects/sat/bepi/topics_e.html -
#29 by Jester on 14 Feb, 2013 10:37
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Currently at ESTEC doing bake out (almost done)
http://sci.esa.int/science-e/www/object/index.cfm?fobjectid=51335 -
#30 by woods170 on 14 Feb, 2013 10:48
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Currently at ESTEC doing bake out (almost done)
http://sci.esa.int/science-e/www/object/index.cfm?fobjectid=51335
Recently (February 3rd) I was at a presentation at the Aviodrome in the Netherlands. Presentation was given by the ESA projectmanager for BepiColombo (Jan van Casteren). He told lot's of interesting stuff. Particularly about the way the orbital insertion of Bepi Colombo at Mercury will be handled. -
#31 by Prober on 18 Feb, 2013 18:14
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#32 by woods170 on 19 Feb, 2013 07:15
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http://sci.esa.int/science-e/www/object/index.cfm?fobjectid=51335
BepiColombo Mercury Planetary Orbiter Proto-Flight Mechanical and Propulsion Bus undergoes bake-out
05 Feb 2013 09:31
The BepiColombo Mercury Planetary Orbiter Mechanical and Propulsion Bus Proto-Flight Model (the structure with integrated heat pipes and chemical propulsion subsystem) has been baked out in the Phenix thermal vacuum facility at ESA's European Space Research and Technology Centre (ESTEC) in Noordwijk, the Netherlands.
This process involved heating the MPB to 60 °C in a vacuum for 20 days to remove any contaminants that would outgas in space. Given the extremes of temperature to which BepiColombo will be exposed – in excess of 350 °C on the parts illuminated by the Sun, -120 °C or less on the parts exposed to cold space – prevention of outgassing is important because the outgassing products from the hot areas of the spacecraft may recondense on colder areas or be photochemically deposited on Sun-illuminated surfaces by ultraviolet radiation.
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#33 by Jester on 20 Feb, 2013 09:54
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And we got some snow in return of all those thermal tests..
P.S.
The 23 day bake-out is now done, and the new ESTEC Test Centre’s Phenix thermal vacuum facility worked great.
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#34 by woods170 on 01 Mar, 2013 08:52
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How to cook a spacecraft
27 February 2013
The faint aroma of hot metal filled the surrounding cleanroom as the hatch to ESA’s newest test facility was slid aside, concluding a 23-day ‘bake-out’ of the largest segment of ESA’s mission to Mercury.
Ending on the early hours of 14 February, this test ensured ESA’s Mercury Planetary Orbiter – MPO, part of the multi-module BepiColombo mission – was cleaned of potential contaminants in advance of its 2015 mission to the inner Solar System.
The bake-out took place at ESA’s technical heart, ESTEC in Noordwijk, the Netherlands, which includes a dedicated Test Centre equipped to simulate all aspects of the space environment.
MPO will fly to the innermost planet with Japan’s Mercury Magnetosphere Orbiter, riding together on ESA’s propulsion module. But not before getting cooked first.
“Being close to Mercury and experiencing high temperatures, the release of molecules from spacecraft materials is expected to occur at higher quantities than for normal satellites,” explains Jan van Casteren, BepiColombo Project Manager.
“Such molecules are a contamination threat if they condense on sensitive surfaces, so we need to minimise outgassing in order to protect our delicate scientific instrumentation on the spacecraft.”
So an initial bake-out of the various spacecraft segments is essential for cleaning purposes – in this case MPO’s ‘Proto-Flight Model’, incorporating its propulsion system and heat pipes that regulate its temperature.
http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Technology/How_to_cook_a_spacecraft
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#35 by woods170 on 01 Mar, 2013 08:54
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And we got some snow in return of all those thermal tests..
No surprise there with 1500 liters of liquid nitrogen going thru those systems every hour, for 23 days. -
#36 by jacqmans on 15 Mar, 2013 08:46
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The mercury rises for BepiColumbo
The Structural and Thermal Model of the BepiColombo Mercury Transfer Module in the Large Space Simulator at ESA’s test centre in the Netherlands. The image was taken on 20 February 2013 ahead of a 12-day Sun-simulation test that began 26 February.
http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Space_Science/The_mercury_rises_for_BepiColombo
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#37 by jacqmans on 04 Oct, 2013 21:01
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Two out of three modules of the ESA-JAXA BepiColombo mission to Mercury, due to launch in 2015. The Mercury Transfer Module, bottom, will transport the mission to Mercury orbit using chemical and electric propulsion. The Mercury Planetary Orbiter, above it, will image the planet with a variety of cameras and spectrometers. In addition an additional module, Japan's Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter, not seen here, will study Mercury's mysteriously strong magnetic field.
Credit: ESA-Anneke Le Floc'h
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#38 by Jester on 04 Oct, 2013 21:49
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Thermal model on display, on sunday at ESTEC bay 4
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#39 by Star One on 10 Jul, 2014 17:33
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Quote
TURIN, Italy — Managers of Europe’s ambitious BepiColombo mission to Mercury, which began development with cost overruns and schedule delays, said the program has now stabilized and is on track to meet its mid-2016 launch date.
The mission, which includes a European orbiter, a Japanese orbiter and a transfer module to carry them to Mercury orbit, is now expected to cost the European Space Agency about 1.2 billion euros ($1.6 billion). That sum includes 170 million euros for launch aboard a European Ariane 5 ECA rocket, a 7.5-year voyage to Mercury orbit and at least two years of operations.
http://www.spacenews.com/article/civil-space/41205after-early-difficulties-esa-led-mercury-mission-on-track-for-2016-launch
