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Flight Operations for GOCE, ESA’s Gravity Mission

Flight Operations for GOCE, ESA’s Gravity Mission. C. Steiger, R. Floberghagen, M. Fehringer, J. Piñeiro, P.P. Emanuelli. Complexity of GOCE: 2487 telecommands 42000 telemetry parameters 991 procedures written by ESOC to operate the S/C. Complexity and Specifics of GOCE.

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Flight Operations for GOCE, ESA’s Gravity Mission

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  1. Flight Operations for GOCE, ESA’s Gravity Mission C. Steiger, R. Floberghagen, M. Fehringer, J. Piñeiro, P.P. Emanuelli

  2. Complexity of GOCE: 2487 telecommands 42000 telemetry parameters 991 procedures written by ESOC to operate the S/C Complexity and Specifics of GOCE • What sets GOCE flight operations apart: • Low orbit => short ground station contact times • Atmospheric drag => orbit prediction intricate, S/C heavily affected by (changes in) the environment • Complex S/C with no clear distinction between ‘platform’ and ‘payload’ => high level of expertise required in case of anomalies • Routine science operations consist of letting the S/C fly in drag-free mode (no complex payload operations campaigns)

  3. 7 to 8 contacts per day Low altitude => short contacts Pass operations automated Orbit prediction based on SSTI data Strict requirements on complete-ness of science data GOCE Flight Operations at ESOC

  4. Commissioning Overview 17/03/2009: launch from Plesetsk/RU on ROCKOT 17/03 to 20/03: launch and early orbit phase 20/03 to 27/03: AOCS unit calibrations 30/03 to 03/04: checkout of ion propulsion assembly 03/04 to 07/04: gradiometer commissioning May/June: checkout of drag-free modes 23/06: Resumption of decay 13/09: stop of decay at 259.6 km

  5. Telecommands Sent in Commissioning 100000 90000 80000 70000 60000 50000 40000 30000 About 600 TCs / day sent in commissioning (30% routine activities, 70% special ops) 20000 10000

  6. Performance of attitude control impacts orbit when not drag-free ±100 m/day => variation of ±2 sec per day in contact predictions Orbit Prediction during Orbit Decay S/C attitude error around Yaw [deg] Orbit decay rate [m/day]

  7. Drag-free mode is working well DFM interruption requires rapid intervention from ground (e.g. update of orbit prediction to ensure correct pointing of antennas) Routine Operations in Drag-free Mode Mean altitude [km] Average IPA thrust level [mN] Feb-2010: drag-free mode interruption, decay 500m/day Oct-2009: drag-free mode interruption, decay 250m/day 05-Apr-2010: strong geomagnetic storm

  8. Main challenges for flight operations were due to the unique features of GOCE: Low orbit Operations in a drag environment High S/C complexity (no distinction between platform and payload) Intense commissioning phase successfully completed, GOCE is in routine since October 2009 ESOC’s flight operations approach for GOCE is working well ESOC is looking forward to supporting a possible mission extension Conclusions

  9. Contact point: Christoph.Steiger@esa.int Questions? Thank you!

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