First Galileo FOC satellite arrives at ESTEC for space testing
EU–(ENEWSPF)–16 May 2013. The first satellite of Galileo’s next phase has arrived at ESA’s technical heart in the Netherlands for a rigorous set of tests to check its readiness for launch.
This first Galileo Full Operational Capability – FOC – satellite is functionally identical to the first four Galileo In-Orbit Validation satellites already in orbit, the operational nucleus of the full Galileo constellation, but has been built by a separate industrial team.
Like all the other 21 FOC satellites so far procured by ESA, the satellite’s prime contractor is OHB in Bremen, Germany and the navigation payload was produced by Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd in Guildford, UK.
This first FOC satellite arrived by road at ESTEC’s Test Centre in Noordwijk, the Netherlands, on 15 May to undergo a series of tests simulating different aspects of launch and space environment. The comprehensive test programme will validate the new design and all the satellites to follow.
A unique facility for Europe, ESA’s test centre has all the facilities needed to validate a satellite for launch under a single roof.
Thermal vacuum testing will simulate the temperature extremes the satellites must endure in the airlessness of space throughout their 12-year working lifetimes. Without any moderating atmosphere, temperatures can shift hundreds of degrees from sunlight to shadow.
