PROBA-3 ASPIICS leaves CSL

The Centre Spatial de Liège (CSL) has just completed the PROBA-3 ASPIICS project, developed by ESA in the tradition of the small PROBA (PRoject for On-Board Autonomy) satellites. Onboard the mission - which includes two mini-satellites and will be launched in 2023 from India - the ASPIICS (Association of Spacecraft for Polarimetric and Imaging Investigation of the Corona of the Sun)  instrument , which will study the corona of our Sun, was developed entirely under the responsibility of CSL.

T

he twin satellites of PROBA-3 will form an external occultation coronagraph, with the optical instrument of the Coronagraph satellite shielded from glaring sunlight by the occultation disk of the Occulter satellite, forming an artificial eclipse in space. The coronagraph on PROBA-3 is called ASPIICS, which stands for Association of Spacecraft for Polarimetric and Imaging Investigation of the Corona of the Sun. The instrument consists of a large 1.4 m diameter occultation disk mounted on the Occulter spacecraft, and a Lyot solar coronagraph system carried by the Coronagraph spacecraft. 

One of the main goals of ASPIICS is to solve a long-standing scientific mystery: why is the solar corona significantly hotter than the Sun itself? ASPIICS will also study coronal mass ejections. These huge outward ejections of hot material from the Sun drive space weather and can have a significant impact on the Earth.  

ASPICCS was developed under the complete responsibility of the CSL (optical, thermal, mechanical design, assembly, calibration, environmental tests). The CSL was also in charge of the development of the internal occulter (1mm inner diameter and 3mm outer diameter), which is used to filter out gear alignment errors and also light diffraction errors. The CSL has been involved since 2014 in this mission, one of the most important projects of the Liège space center. It has just been completed with alignment activities and vibration tests on the telescope.

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CÉDRIC THIZY