Orbiting Jupiter with 19 HP - EADS celebrates success of the Galileo research mission
Lampoldshausen, 10 September 2003
* Galileo space probe completes 14-year research mission to Jupiter
* EADS delivered complete propulsion system under contract to NASA
* German engines guided probe over a distance of 900 million kilometres
Galileo is still orbiting at a 900-kilometre distance from the earth and is sending back information from the depths of space by data transfer. On 21 September, the space probe will then fall – as planned – to the surface of Jupiter and after a roughly 14-year research mission will burn up in the planet's atmosphere. Galileo was launched on 18 October 1989 on board the space shuttle "Atlantis". EADS SPACE Transportation in Germany delivered the complete propulsion system for the probe under contract to NASA. As announced by EADS, the Galileo mission was originally to be completed in December 1997 but thanks to the full functional capability of all the important systems, the probe could be operated for a further six years.
"We are very proud of our contribution to the tremendous success of the Galileo mission," said Johannes Stuhlberger, Head of Small Propulsion Systems at EADS SPACE Transportation. "For us, the NASA contract for the Galileo propulsion system marked our entry into the American market.
The engines have worked perfectly over a period of almost 14 years. In this way, we have been able to provide impressive proof of the reliability of our products." The results of the Galileo mission are of great significance to the exploration of our solar system and of Jupiter, in particular. Thanks to this mission, findings on the composition of the planet's atmosphere and surface and that of its moons could be made. An important aspect is the discovery of an ocean below the ice crust of one of Jupiter's moons, Europa. NASA scientists conjecture that organic life is to be found in this ocean. On its mission, the Galileo probe travelled nine billion kilometres in total – that is 56 times the distance between the earth and the sun. Despite the vast, 900 million-kilometre distance between Galileo and the earth, both the contact between the probe and ground station and the data transfer could be maintained over the entire 14 year period. The transmission of a message from the earth to the probe and vice versa took approximately one hour.
Even though it has enjoyed huge success, the Galileo mission must now come to an end. The fuel in the space probe's tanks has been used up. Without fuel, the engines which effect attitude control can no longer be operated and therefore the probe cannot be guided. For this reason, Galileo will undergo a controlled crash over Jupiter. Within a matter of seconds, the probe will burn up in the planet's atmosphere, where the temperature is more than 10,000 degrees Celsius. In order to pilot the probe to the exact point of entry, the propulsion system developed by EADS will be used for one last time. The system consists of the following components: a 400 Newton (N) main engine, twelve 10 N engines for attitude control, and the tanks. With full tanks, the system weighs 1,141 kilograms, which is approximately half of the Galileo probe's total weight. The 400 N propulsion unit was not brought into operation until five years after the launch of the probe. Despite its very low weight of only 3.5 kilograms, with 825 HP the propulsion unit has the performance of a Formula 1 racing car. It was the 400 N propulsion unit's task – for the first time in the history of space travel – to transport a space vehicle into a safe orbit around one of the gas giants. The propulsion unit was in operation for over one hour in total and, as a result, burnt 660 litres of fuel. The 10 N engines were used for orbit and attitude control manoeuvres. Each separate 10 N engine weighs 300 grams and can easily be held in one hand. Nevertheless, these engines deliver an output of 19 HP each. They were utilized regularly during the entire length of the mission and carried out over 350 manoeuvres directed from the ground station on earth and an even greater number of automatic attitude control manoeuvres.
Based on Galileo, EADS SPACE Transportation developed and produced more than 50 further propulsion systems for commercial satellites. With a service life of 14 years, Galileo is the oldest satellite propulsion system in service worldwide. EADS SPACE Transportation was founded in June 2003 through the merger of Germany’s Astrium Space Infrastructure with France’s EADS Launch Vehicles. EADS SPACE Transportation is the European specialist for space transport, manned space flight and ballistic launchers for the French armed forces. With a workforce of 5,000 the company generated revenues of € 1.4 billion in 2002 and maintains sites at Bremen, Friedrichshafen, Ottobrunn and Lampoldshausen as well as Les Mureaux near Paris, St-Médard-en-Jalles near Bordeaux and at Kourou (French Guyana).
Contact:
EADS Space Transportation
Kirsten Leung
Tel.: +49 (0) 421 539-5326
Fax: +49 (0) 421 539-4534
E-Mail: Kirsten.Leung@space.eads.net
EADS SPACE Transportation
Bianca Zotz
Tel.: +49 (0) 89 607-27244
Fax: +49 (0) 89 607-29765
E-Mail: Bianca.Zotz@space.eads.net
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