ESA - GOCE - Archive

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The mission

ESA's Earth Explorer GOCE mission was dedicated to map Earth's gravity with unrivalled precision and provided the most accurate model of the 'geoid' ever produced to further our understanding of how Earth works. After more than four years in orbit, the mission came to a natural end on 11 November 2013, but the wealth of data from GOCE continues to be exploited to improve our understanding of ocean circulation, sea level, ice dynamics, Earth’s interior and climate change.

The launch

Date: 17 March 2009
Site: Plesetsk Cosmodrome, Russia
Launcher: Rockot

1st in the Explorer series
1-2 cm geoid accuracy
260 km altitude

GOCE

GOCE in orbit

GOCE achieves drag-free perfection

26/05/2009 3682 views 2 likes

GOCE in orbit

Enabling & Support

ESA's low-flying gravity-detector was weighty technology ch…

16/04/2009 1057 views 1 likes

GOCE gradiometer

GOCE’s ‘heart’ starts beating

08/04/2009 1777 views 0 likes

Counteracting drag

GOCE's electric ion propulsion engine switched on

06/04/2009 6411 views 6 likes

Smiling faces: GOCE team from industry and ESA at end of LEOP

Enabling & Support

GOCE completes early orbit phase

20/03/2009 1887 views 0 likes

GOCE Flight Control Team in Main Control Room round-the-clock

Enabling & Support

GOCE: Critical operations ongoing

18/03/2009 1381 views 0 likes

GOCE liftoff

ESA launches Earth Explorer mission GOCE

17/03/2009 3486 views 2 likes

ESA's Juergen Schmid during GOCE launch rehearsal, 13 March

Launch readiness confirmed

17/03/2009 720 views 0 likes

GOCE liftoff

GOCE launch in pictures

17/03/2009 1175 views 1 likes

GOCE liftoff

Watch the GOCE launch live

17/03/2009 1841 views 0 likes

Rockot launch tower

GOCE launch confirmed for Tuesday 17 March

16/03/2009 610 views 0 likes

Launch tower at Plesetsk

Launch of ESA’s gravity mapping satellite delayed

16/03/2009 1540 views 0 likes

GOCE ready for launch

16/03/2009 1043 views 0 likes

Spacecraft Operations Manager Juan Piñeiro in ESOC's Main Control Room

Enabling & Support

ESA teams in Germany, Russia in last GOCE rehearsal

15/03/2009 409 views 0 likes

Launch tower

GOCE timeline for 16 March 2009

13/03/2009 448 views 0 likes

Ground Operations Manager

Enabling & Support

Ground operations ready for GOCE launch

12/03/2009 1118 views 0 likes

Follow GOCE launch on Twitter

11/03/2009 537 views 1 likes

Launch tower at Plesetsk

ESA's gravity satellite moves to launch pad

11/03/2009 1288 views 0 likes

GOCE in orbit

GOCE satellite launch – mapping the Earth’s gravity as neve…

09/03/2009 2288 views 0 likes

ESA’s YouTube spotlights GOCE

09/03/2009 793 views 0 likes

GOCE Flight Dynamics team: practising for launch

GOCE: Orbiting on the edge

06/03/2009 2108 views 0 likes

European scientists take the measure of gravity

20/02/2009 649 views 0 likes

GOCE in Plesetsk

March launch planned for ESA's gravity mission

04/02/2009 1328 views 0 likes

Different spheres of the Earth system

Landmark year ahead for Earth observation science missions

16/01/2009 1647 views 0 likes

GOCE mounted onto Breeze

GOCE launch delayed until 2009

24/10/2008 1878 views 0 likes

Manoeuvring GOCE in the cleanroom

GOCE launch postponed

16/10/2008 783 views 0 likes

Fairing with logos

GOCE team gearing up for new launch date

02/10/2008 895 views 0 likes

J. Piñeiro

Enabling & Support

GOCE Spacecraft Operations Manager: Interview with Juan Piñ…

26/09/2008 754 views 0 likes

GOCE in orbit

Launch of GOCE delayed

08/09/2008 1248 views 0 likes

Last look at GOCE

Last-ever look at ESA's gravity satellite GOCE

04/09/2008 940 views 0 likes

GOCE positioned for alignment check

GOCE Earth Explorer satellite to look at the Earth’s surfac…

22/08/2008 3091 views 0 likes

ESA mission controllers in simulation training for GOCE launch

Enabling & Support

Countdown for GOCE: launch simulation for ground team

14/08/2008 1330 views 0 likes

Safe arrival for GOCE at Arkhangelsk

GOCE arrives safely at launch site in Russia

05/08/2008 821 views 0 likes

GOCE

GOCE begins its journey to launch site

29/07/2008 888 views 0 likes

GOCE in ESA's test facilities

Enabling & Support

GOCE prepares for shipment to Russia

24/07/2008 1064 views 0 likes

GOCE in the Large Space Simulator

Enabling & Support

September launch for ESA's gravity mission GOCE

27/05/2008 1447 views 0 likes

GOCE

GOCE Media day at ESA/ESTEC

20/03/2008 781 views 0 likes

GOCE, mapping gravity as never before

GOCE - Mapping gravity as never before

14/02/2008 596 views 0 likes

Opening the transport container at ESA

Gravity satellite GOCE arrives at ESA's test centre

27/08/2007 1121 views 2 likes

Mount Everest

Mapping mountains from space with GOCE

01/08/2007 2343 views 0 likes

Celebrating completion of ESA's Earth Explorer, GOCE

30/07/2007 523 views 0 likes

GOCE at Thales Alenia Space

ESA’s Earth Explorer gravity satellite on show

19/07/2007 1654 views 1 likes

GOCE satellite flight model in Alcatel Alenia Space, Turin, Italy

Scientists view GOCE satellite

30/03/2007 1291 views 0 likes

GOCE Data Announcement of Opportunity released

09/10/2006 375 views 0 likes

Gradiometer instrument (excluding harness)

Materials science helps GOCE satellite win performance

25/08/2006 1884 views 1 likes

ArcGP grid, Jan 2006 (mGal)

Enabling & Support

Learning about Arctic Ocean circulation & ice thickness by …

14/06/2006 573 views 1 likes

GOCE satellite

Third GOCE Workshop

07/04/2006 504 views 0 likes

The Earth's gravity field (geoid)

Enabling & Support

Earth’s gravity scar

25/04/2005 2512 views 1 likes

Signing of the GOCE High-Level Processing Facility Contract

Contract signed for GOCE data analysis and modelling

26/10/2004 552 views 0 likes

Uncovering the GOCE structural model

ESA’s gravity satellite arrives at ESTEC for testing

29/04/2004 856 views 0 likes

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