2003: On 30 July 2003, ESA's SMART-1 was lowered onto the cone-shaped adapter that would serve as its interface with the Ariane 5 launch vehicle. The photo above shows the adapter's four springs, which would be compressed under the weight of SMART-1.
SMART-1 was launched on 27 September 2003 by Ariane 5 flight 162. After launch, these springs provided the separation 'push' for SMART-1 when the satellite was released from Ariane 5.
Modal media
28 July
27 July
26 July
rimani aggiornato
Iscriviti alla nostra newsletter per ricevere le ultime notizie, gli aggiornamenti sulle missioni e approfondimenti esclusivi direttamente nella tua casella di posta. Sii tra i primi a conoscere i nostri prossimi progetti e le nostre scoperte.