Dec 11, 2010 11:38 GMT  ·  By
A qualification model of the Galileo dispenser, fitted with one Galileo engineering model on each side, is tested on the QUAD shaker at the ESTEC Test Center
   A qualification model of the Galileo dispenser, fitted with one Galileo engineering model on each side, is tested on the QUAD shaker at the ESTEC Test Center

In preparation for next year's launch of the first European navigation satellite, the European Space Agency (ESA) is currently setting up its technical bases. Having completed the network that will collect the orbital signals, it is now moving to testing the spacecraft themselves.

The instrument that will launch in 2011 will be the first of the Galileo navigation system, which is the Old Continent's response to the American-built Global Positioning System (GPS).

Europe, China and the Russia Federation are all building their own navigation systems, and all of these nations want to eventually provide global coverage for subscribers.

Progress in developing such a network can be difficult to obtain, ESA knows. But the agency is taking things one step at a time.

Recently, in the Netherlands, it began testing a device that will play a critical role during all Galileo satellite launches – the tool that will keep the paired satellites safe during launch.

The instrument will ensure that the spacecraft are securely fastened in their place during launch – so as to avoid damage – and will then release the satellites into Earth's orbit.

“This dispenser has been specifically developed for Galileo. The dispenser design had to comply with very stringent mass and volume requirements,” explains the ESA dispenser test overseer, Miguel Mendoza Hauptmann.

“It has been developed by RUAG Space of Sweden on behalf of launch service provider Arianespace, with RUAG in Switzerland responsible for the structure and EADS CASA in Spain overseeing the hold-down and release system, which is also a new development for Galileo,” he adds.

“ Although designed for the initial IOV launches, this dispenser is actually also the baseline for the follow-up full operational capability flights on Soyuz,” the official goes on to say.

One of the reasons why a dual dispenser was needed is that ESA specifically required for the Galileo satellites to support joint launches. In other words, the rockets carrying them could carry other payloads as well, and the Galileo instruments need to bear that.

“Our testing on the QUAD has proceeded very well. Afterwards, the stack will be tested in the lateral direction on a second shaker, the dual electrodynamic shaker system,” Mendoza Hauptmann adds.

“And later this month, we plan to perform a shock test based on simulating a satellite’s separation from the dispenser, in order to validate this process and to gather accurate data on the generated shock levels,” he concludes.