CHENNAI: The European Space Agency’s (ESA) Proba-3 mission, initially slated for launch on Wednesday, was rescheduled for Thursday (December 5), due to a technical issue that emerged during final pre-launch preparations.
The mission, which is set to be launched aboard ISRO’s PSLV-XL rocket from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota will now lift off at 4:04 pm on Thursday.
According to Josef Aschbacher, director general, ESA, the delay was triggered by an anomaly detected in the redundant propulsion system of the Coronagraph Spacecraft.
This system is part of the satellite’s altitude and orbit control subsystem, which ensures the spacecraft maintains its correct orientation and precise pointing in space. He confirmed that the anomaly is under detailed investigation and the mission’s control team at ESA’s European Space Operations Centre (ESOC) in Redu, Belgium, is evaluating the feasibility of a software solution to overcome the propulsion system issue.
Should this software fix prove effective, the launch will proceed as planned on Thursday.
ISRO’s ground teams are on high vigil as any further delay would mean they have to drain the propellant from tanks. Sources said they can keep the propellent for maximum of 48 hours.
Proba-3 is a unique mission consisting of two spacecraft designed to fly in precise formation to within millimetres. The mission’s primary scientific objective is to create artificial solar eclipses in space to study the Sun’s faint corona.