Testing time for Proba-V

[Waspie_Dwarf]

Testing time for Proba-V, ESA's global vegitation tracker

Completed Proba-V satellite.

Fully-integrated Proba-V microsatellite at QinetiQ Space Belgium in December 2012.

Credits: QinetiQ

14 January 2013 ESA’s Proba-V microsatellite is now assembled and midway through testing to ensure it is fully spaceworthy. The miniature Earth-observer, designed to chart global vegetation every two days, will be launched in April.

The testing at the specialised Intespace facility in Toulouse, France, includes rigorous simulations of Proba-V’s take-off conditions and the hard vacuum and temperature extremes it must endure in orbit.

It comes after Proba-V’s assembly was completed by prime contractor QinetiQ Space at its facility in Kruibeke, Belgium last month.

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