The European Space Agency (ESA)’s unprecedented Proba-3 mission is scheduled to launch on December 4 from India’s Satish Dhawan Space Centre. The mission, which aims to explore the Sun’s corona through precision formation flight, will fly aboard the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-XL), a reliable machine of the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO).
Liftoff is scheduled for 11:38 CET (10:38 GMT, 16:08 IST), with live coverage available on ISRO’s YouTube channel and ESA’s Web TV.
According to ESA, this collaboration is an important milestone, as it is the first time that ESA has partnered with ISRO for a satellite launch since the Proba-1 Earth observation mission in 2001. By leveraging ISRO’s cost-effective yet reliable PSLV platform, Proba-3 will achieve its highly elliptical orbit extending 60,000 kilometers above Earth.
Proba-3 is a unique mission consisting of two spacecraft designed to fly precisely to a distance of only 150 meters in orbit. A spacecraft, the ‘Occultor’, will block the Sun’s fiery disk, creating an artificial solar eclipse. The second, the ‘coronograph’, will take detailed observations of the Sun’s corona, a faint outer layer of the star that is visible only during a total solar eclipse. This innovative setup will allow scientists to study the corona more comprehensively than ever before, providing up to six hours of continuous eclipse-like conditions during each 19-hour orbit.
India’s role in enabling this ambitious ESA mission highlights its growing reputation as a global spacefaring nation. According to ESA, PSLV-XL’s proven track record of accurately delivering payloads to orbit made it the preferred choice for Proba-3, particularly for its ability to achieve the extended orbit required for this mission. . The cost-effectiveness of PSLV-XL further aligned with the tight budget of this technology demonstration project.
For ESA, Proba-3 is not only about solar science, but also a big step forward in demonstrating precision flight in space. The mission is intended to refine technologies for future satellite constellations and large-scale spacecraft operations, demonstrating the possibility of creating virtual spacecraft by coordinating multiple smaller units.
This international collaboration underlines ISRO’s role as a trusted partner for advanced missions. The Proba-3 mission exemplifies how Indian space technology is enabling cutting-edge scientific research and advancing India’s position in the global space community.
