the role of eurockot launch services gmbh in launching sentinel satellites
- Paper number
IAC-15,D2,2,7,x30224
- Author
Mr. Peter Freeborn, Eurockot Launch Services GmbH, Germany
- Year
2015
- Abstract
Eurockot Launch Services GmbH of Bremen, Germany, the joint venture of Airbus Safran Launchers (51%) and Khrunichev Space Center (49%), will actively support the Copernicus Sentinel satellite programme with three Rockot launches in 2015 and 2016: these are the Sentinel-3A, Sentinel-5p and Sentinel-2B satellites to be orbited into Low Earth Orbits from Plesetsk Cosmodrome from late 2015. Eurockot was contracted by the European Space Agency to perform these launches. The Copernicus programme is funded by the European Union and executed by the European Space Agency. At the same time, Rockot is also the back-up launcher for Sentinel-2A and Sentinel-3B. The paper to be submitted by Eurockot will highlight the up-coming launches of Sentinel-3A, -5p and -2B in 2015 and 2016 and will describe their individual launch campaigns up to and including separation of the spacecraft from the Breeze-KM upper stages in their respective orbits. The paper will furthermore describe how Eurockot has been meeting the contractual and technical standards of the EU and ESA, including its adherence to the “Code of Conduct” and will feature the different launcher/spacecraft interfaces (adapter / dispenser systems) used to accommodate and separate the afore-mentioned satellites. The paper will feature Eurockot`s launch heritage which also includes three previous launches of the Earth Explorer satellites GOCE, SMOS (together with the Proba-2 spacecraft) and the Swarm constellation for the European Space Agency in 2009 and 2013. The ability of Rockot to orbit single, dual and multiple satellite payloads will be shown by way of selected launches conducted by Eurockot, culminating in the successful launch in November 2013 of the Swarm constellation which demanded the precise and simultaneous separation of three satellites into their respective injection.
- Abstract document
- Manuscript document
(absent)