In the news - Entries from January 2012

ESA DG and UK Science Minister open Kepler facility

Friday, January 27. 2012

Earlier this week, Jean-Jacques Dordain, the Director General of the European Space Agency (ESA), officially opened SSTL’s new Kepler building. The Director General unveiled a commemorative plaque with David Willetts, the Universities and Science Minister, at an event attended by guests from the UK and European space sectors.

Dr Matt Perkins, Rt.Hon. David Willetts, Sir Martin Sweeting and Jean-Jacques Dordain mark the occasion with a handshake.

The Director General was taken on a tour of the building by SSTL’s CEO Matt Perkins and Executive Chairman, Sir Martin Sweeting. On their rounds they viewed satellites currently under construction in the Kepler building, including TechDemoSat-1, a medium resolution spacecraft for Kazakhstan and ADS-1B, an SSTL-100 platform for COM DEV’s exactEarth constellation which is due to be launched later this year.

Franco Ongaro, ESA Director of Technology and Quality, Sir Martin Sweeting, Dr Matt Perkins and Jean-Jacques Dordain with TechDemoSat-1, currently under assembly and test in SSTL's AIT hall and due for launch Q4 2012.

The Director General was also shown the 14 European GNSS payloads being built in a specially designed secure area within the 40,000 sqft facility which is co-located with SSTL’s HQ in Surrey.

The Kepler building’s world-class testing halls and state of the art facilities will provide SSTL with greater capacity to build whole constellations at one time and also work on larger spacecraft than previously, such as the geostationary telecommunications satellite currently being developed under ARTES funding from ESA.

ADS-1B, an SSTL-100 platform for COM DEV’s exactEarth constellation.

David Willetts welcomed the new facility, commenting:

"The continued success of SSTL is a clear sign that our space industry is thriving. This impressive, high-tech new facility is already manufacturing some of the most advanced satellites in the world, boosting growth and helping the UK stay ahead of the game in space technology."

Jean-Jacques Dordain, Martin Ditter (ESA Harwell) and Dr Matt Perkins inspecting flight hardware in SSTL's Assembly, Integration and Test Hall.

Posted by Robin Wolstenholme in In the news at 08:00 | Comments (0) | Trackbacks (0)

How solar storms affect you

Wednesday, January 25. 2012

We are currently experiencing the effects of a solar storm. Since Monday morning, high-energy particles have been hurtling towards Earth from the Sun. This is the result of a Coronal Mass Ejection (CME); a sudden burst of electromagnetic energy and particles released into space from the Sun’s atmosphere.

This Youtube video shows a large solar eruption that occurred in June, 2011:

In space, CME particles can collide with crucial electronics onboard a satellite, disrupting its systems. This is of particular concern in a region centred over a point close to the Falkland Islands, known as the South Atlantic Anomaly, where the Earth’s inner radiation belt comes closer to our planet’s surface. Normally satellites experience much higher levels of radiation when travelling through this region, and these effects will be exacerbated during a solar storm.

Interference with satellite signal transmissions can potentially affect our satellite-dependent communications and TV. Disruptions can also affect satellite navigation resulting in positional errors of up to tens of metres – with significant consequences for aircraft navigation and landing in particular.

Another concern for aircrews is the enhanced radiation experienced during solar storms at high altitude and at the poles of the earth. Although this is unlikely to cause permanent harm, airlines often re-route aircraft to avoid exposure.

The effects of this solar storm have even been felt here in Britain. Increased solar activity enhances the auroral oval in both the northern and southern hemispheres meaning that people in the north of the UK were able to witness the spectacular Northern Lights over the last few nights.

The Aurora Australis in the Southern Hemisphere

In severe cases very large CMEs can induce electrical fluctuations at ground level with the potential to blow out transformers in power grids, as happened in the 1989 Quebec blackout.

There’s little need to worry this time round though. This storm is likely to be only moderate as the magnetic polarity of the plasma is co-aligned with the Earth’s magnetic field. Severe solar storm effects only occur when it is cross-aligned.

Evidently, in an increasingly technological world, space weather is a serious matter. As a result, SSTL and the UK government are keen to monitor it. TechDemoSat-1 which is currently under construction in SSTL’s new Kepler facility, will carry a number of payloads collectively known as The Space Environment Suite to record radiation and ion levels. This suite will provide us with more comprehensive measurements and it is increasingly likely that such payloads will be carried on all missions in the future.

Posted by Robin Wolstenholme in In the news at 12:54 | Comments (0) | Trackbacks (0)