![]() ![]() ![]() Two large electric propulsion periods will occur, each consisting of about 2 months. Our first use of MTM’s electric propulsion system (see sidebar at right) will occur as soon as near-Earth commissioning activities are complete. In preparation, we needed to develop new software and operations concepts. After the review, a large part of the industrial team that designed and built the spacecraft will be released by ESA.īepiColombo will be ESA’s first interplanetary electric propulsion mission. Payload teams located at ESOC will process the data in near real-time and generate command requests if an instrument exhibits unexpected behavior.Īt the end of the Near-Earth Commissioning Phase, ESA will convene a formal review. Still, the functional checkouts produce data that the spacecraft will return to Earth. Most of the remote sensing instruments on MPO face directly toward MTM during cruise, so they are unable to perform science observations. However, no campaign of scientific observations nor checks of simultaneous instrument operations will occur during this phase. Each of the 4 electric propulsion thrusters will be test-fired for a few hours.ĭuring this phase, we will check out the function of MMO’s subsystems and activate each science instrument on both MPO and MMO for a functional checkout. As part of this phase, communications will be moved to the high-gain antenna, which will serve as the primary means of communication throughout the mission. The first 5 weeks will focus on the platform subsystems: data handling, attitude and orbit control, propulsion subsystems, telecommunications, and power. Representatives of the project, industry, scientific payload teams, and JAXA will be present at ESOC to support specific operations. Planned to last about 2 months, this phase requires the continuous support of an 11-person Flight Control Team. A test maneuver using MTM chemical propulsion thrusters concludes the Launch and Early Orbit Phase.Īs long as the spacecraft is close to Earth, round-trip communications are quick, and the Mission Control Team will work to perform a more in-depth checkout of the spacecraft subsystems and instruments. The team will activate and check out star trackers and reaction wheels, deploy medium- and high-gain antennas, and switch to using the medium-gain antenna, enabling faster telecommunications. The team works 24 hours per day for 3 days, in 2 shifts of 12 hours each. ![]() The 100-person Mission Control Team includes experts on spacecraft operations, flight dynamics, ground software, ground station, and communications. Over the next 2.5 days, the Mission Control Team at the European Space Operations Centre (ESOC) will bring the spacecraft into its normal operating mode. The automatic sequence completes in about 1 hour. BepiColombo will configure itself for interplanetary cruise by priming its chemical thrusters, establishing its orientation in space, and deploying the large MTM and smaller MPO solar arrays. About 40 minutes after launch, once the spacecraft separates from its rocket, it will make contact with us through ESA’s New Norcia communications station. The first few days of the mission are intensely busy. Another component, a protective structure referred to as MOSIF, will shield MMO from excessive solar heating until Mercury orbit insertion. Equipped with its own set of solar arrays, power conditioning and distribution system, and chemical and electric propulsion, MTM is controlled by MPO’s computer. The Mercury Transfer Module (MTM) is responsible for propulsion through the 7-year interplanetary voyage of the composite spacecraft. To enable its journey to Mercury, BepiColombo has two other hardware components. JAXA’s Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter (MMO, recently named “Mio” through a public contest) carries instruments mostly dedicated to the study of the magnetic field, waves, and particles in the space environment around Mercury. Its radio science experiment will also perform a test of Einstein’s theory of relativity. ESA’s Mercury Planetary Orbiter (MPO) carries 11 instruments dedicated to the study of Mercury’s surface, interior structure, composition, exosphere, and magnetic field. The BepiColombo mission will deliver two independent spacecraft to Mercury. ![]()
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