ESA - Observing the Earth - GOCE begins its journey to launch site

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GOCE begins its journey to launch site

29 July 2008

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In orbit, the same side of the GOCE satellite remains facing the Sun. The spacecraft is equipped with four body-mounted and two wing-mounted solar panels. Due to the configuration in orbit, the solar panels will experience extreme temperature variations so it was necessary to use materials that will tolerate temperatures as high as 160ºC and as low as -170ºC.

Credits: ESA–AOES-Medialab

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To prepare GOCE for shipping to Russia’s Plesetsk Cosmodrome, the spacecraft was packed in its own nitrogen-pressurised container in the clean room at ESA’s European Space Research and Technology Centre (ESTEC) in Noordwijk, the Netherlands on 23 July 2008.

Credits: ESA - A. Le Floc'h

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GOCE was transported on 29 July 2008 by truck from ESA’s European Space Research and Technology Centre (ESTEC) in Noordwijk, the Netherlands, to Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam, where it was loaded into an Antonov aircraft.

Credits: ESA - A. Le Floc'h

GOCE launch