PROBA
PROBA is minisatellite technology demonstration mission in ESA's General Study Program with the objective to address issues of on-board operational autonomy of a generic platform.
| Names | PROBA, PROBA-1 |
|---|---|
| Mission type | Experimental, Earth Observation |
| Operator | ESA |
| COSPAR ID | 2001-049B |
| SATCAT no. | 26958 |
| Website | Proba-1 applications |
| Mission duration | Elapsed: 22 years, 3 months, 15 days |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Bus | PROBA |
| Manufacturer | QinetiQ Space (previously Verhaert Space) |
| Launch mass | 94 kg (207 lb) |
| Dry mass | 94 kg (207 lb) |
| Dimensions | 0.6 m × 0.6 m × 0.8 m (2 ft 0 in × 2 ft 0 in × 2 ft 7 in) |
| Power | 90 W |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | 04:53, 22 October 2001 (UTC) |
| Rocket | PSLV C3 |
| Launch site | Sriharikota FLP |
| Contractor | ISRO |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Geocentric |
| Regime | Sun-synchronous |
| Eccentricity | 0.008866 |
| Perigee altitude | 553 km (344 mi) |
| Apogee altitude | 677 km (421 mi) |
| Inclination | 97.9 degrees |
| Period | 97 minutes |
| Epoch | 22 October 2001 00:53:00 UTC |
PROBA (Project for On-Board Autonomy), renamed PROBA-1, is a Belgian satellite launched atop an Indian Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle by ISRO on 22 October 2001. The satellite was funded through the ESA's MicroSat program. This small (60×60×80 cm; 95 kg) boxlike system, with solar panel collectors on its surface, has remarkable image-making qualities. It hosts two Earth Observation instruments dubbed CHRIS and HRC. CHRIS is a hyperspectral system (200 narrow bands) that images at 17 m resolution, while HRC is a monochromatic camera that images visible light at 5 m resolution.
With an initial lifetime of one to two years, the satellite celebrated its 20th year of operations in 2021. On 9 March 2018, it surpassed ERS-2 as ESA's longest operated Earth observation mission of all time.