| | FAQs
What does operate a satellite mean?
To operate a satellite means bringing it to the place where it should be positioned, switching on all its intruments on board, maintaining it on the right spot and checking its behaviour throughout its life.
How long does a satellite live?
It depends on the mission it has to fulfill and the incidents it experiences during its operational life. Meteosat 2 – a meteorological satellite - was planned for 2 years of operations. ESA/ESOC careful operations extended its life to 10 years. ERS1 - the first European Earth observation satellite based on radar technique - had an expected lifetime of 2 years when it was launched on 17 July 1991. It has been going on for nine years. IUE - the Ultraviolet Explorer - was operated for 19 years when it was originally conceived for a 2-year mission.
What do you need to operate a satellite?
First of all, human expertise in many areas like
- data processing
- computer science
- station engineering
- physics
- telecommunications
You need to send commands to a satellite via an antenna. The satellite will react and send information relating to its functioning and scientific data which will be analysed and preprocessed at ESOC before being passed on to the respective satellite. In the case of a telecommunications, the satellite provides a service, the quality of which depends on the accuracy of its position above a coverage area.
How do I become a spacecraft controller?
Many fields of expertise are represented at ESA, starting with mathematicians, physicists, spacecraft engineers, telecommunications engineers, computer science engineers. All operations teams consist of people with different technical backgrounds.
How many stations do you need to track a satellite?
Depending on the orbit of the satellite, it varies a lot. A minimum of one is required. The early phases of satellite control requires many more. ESA has five ground stations fitted with antennas of various sizes (link to D/OPS Home Page) and relies on national ground stations for early operations.
What does deorbiting mean?
Bringing a satellite away from its operational orbit so that a new satellite can be put in the most suitable position.
Is ESA responsible for the operations of all satellites in
Europe?
No. ESA was originally established to control ESA-owned satellites. Many organisations and commercial companies have now set up their own control centres. ESA carried out several firsts in the field of operations, such as the swingby of Jupiter for the Ulysses mission to the Sun in 1990 and the encounter with the comet Halley in 1986.
How can I get a job at ESA?
Visit our Job Opportunities website.
Where can I find information about the ESA Educational Programmes?
ESA offers various training and fellowship opportunities for young nationals from its Member and Cooperating States.
How can I become an astronaut?
Visit the Human Spaceflight site
How can I get information/photos of the ESA Astronauts?
ESA's Astronauts biographies can be found on the Astronauts Page.
I want to use ESA photos/material. How should I proceed with the copyright issue?
You may freely use the images you find on our site, as long as it is not for commercial use. You may not modify the images. If you intend to use any of the images on a website, please acknowledge that it originates from ESA.
How can I subscribe to the ESA Press Releases?
See the Press Page for full instructions on how you can receive Press Releases and Information Notes via e-mail.
Where can I find technical information/images regarding Earth Observation satellites?
Refer to ESA's Earthnet Online Service, which contains many resources on Earth Observation. Also, we maintain Envisat, MSG and MetOp homepages.
Where can I find technical information/images regarding ESA's scientific satellites?
Extensive information is available online through the Science homepage on past, present and future missions.
What is the latest news on the Ariane-5 flight?
You can find the latest news on Ariane 5 from the Ariane homepage, and other links therein.
Where can I find out about upcoming launches?
See the Next Launch article on the Launchers site.
Where can I find out about past ESA projects?
Go to the Publications homepage, where you can find articles about past Projects. Also, you may access ESA's individual programme pages to find out more about older missions.
I'm looking for the ESA Bulletin? Where can I find this and other publications?
ESA maintains its own Publications website, where a variety of publications may be accessed.
I would like information about upcoming events/conferences. Where can I look?
Access the up-to-date homepage of ESA Conferences and Events. You can find a full list of upcoming events on our Calendar pages.
I'm having difficulty accessing your web pages. I'm using Netscape version 3.1.
To access ESA's websites we recommend that you use recent versions of the web browsers. These can normally be downloaded from the Internet.
I'm trying to contact someone at ESA. How can I go about doing this?
Please pose these questions via e-mail to the ESA Web Helpdesk, we do not maintain public lists of ESA employees on the Internet.
How can my company apply for ESA contracts?
You can find out about doing business with ESA via the e-business web pages. ESA offers and maintains, specifically for this purpose, a system called the Electronic Mailing of Invitations to Tender Service (EMITS) , which can be consulted online.
Last update: 27 September 2004 | |
