Sener involved in the platform and the payload of the Rosetta probe – Reuters

BILBAO, 6 Aug. (IRIN) –

engineering group Sener and technology has provided the team of the Rosetta probe, August 6 has become the first satellite to make a link or rendezvous with a comet.

In a statement, the Basque company explained that the Rosetta mission will seek to understand the origin of comets, cosmic icebergs real well as their role in the origin and evolution of life in the solar system.

The probe, a project of the European Space Agency (ESA), has spent 10 years traveling through space since its launch on 2 March 2004 from the European Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, and in this time has traveled 6,000 million kilometers, the Earth has flown three times, and has sailed Mars crossed with two asteroids.

Sener has indicated that, after leaving the orbit of Jupiter, the probe was induced for 31 months a state of hibernation in deep space, which sparked the January 20 to complete the final stages of his “epic journey”.

The company has indicated that his journey culminates Rosetta on August 6 with the comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko coupling, which from now accompanied on his trip around the sun and on his return to the orbit of Jupiter. As pointed out, the probe, meanwhile, sent images of high scientific value to Earth icy comet nucleus. In November 2014 the robotic module or Lander Philae will land on the comet’s surface.

On this mission, Sener participates in both the probe platform and payload. In the platform, the Boom has provided for the deployment of instruments and blinds (louvres) protection to ensure the proper functioning of onboard instruments and optical screens for cameras and star trackers.

In the payload, has contributed both OSIRIS cameras and electronics Giada instrument. The Boom instrument supplied by Sener deployable mast comprises two compounds for carbon fiber tube and a deployment mechanism, in which five scientific instruments are located.

Its task is to remove the instruments in orbit of the satellite electromagnetic disturbance. In addition, the company has conducted 15 system louvres active heat control probe, consisting of 16 sheets each. These sheets should be opened or closed depending on the probe temperature to ensure thermal stability, without application of external energy, which are covered with photovoltaic panels.

The project manager of the louvres in Sener, Miguel Domingo, stressed that the model devised by the company to Rosetta “reduces mass and increases the ability to emit heat, which is a significant improvement over previous systems.”

Furthermore, Sener has been responsible for the optical screens attenuation of solar radiation incident on the two navigation cameras and the two star trackers.

Also, Sener has also been responsible, in collaboration with the INTA and the Astrophysical Institute of Andalucia (IAA), the design and integration of the electronic control unit and mechanism of filter wheels (FWM in its acronym in English) of the two chambers of OSIRIS (Optical Spectroscopic and Infrared Remote Imaging System), the main optical system Rosetta, which was used to take images of the comet probe Rosetta and since the beginning of the mission.