Engineers Find A Way

Corridor Testing Proba-3

With the recent launch of Proba-3 by the European Space Agency (ESA), it’s clear that engineers had to come up with innovative ways to balance scientific requirements against project costs. The main scientific requirement for Proba-3 was to artificially create Solar Eclipses for scientists to study the Sun’s corona. The biggest cost to balance was that it was impractical to launch a single satellite to create this solar eclipse. The answer was to launch two smaller satellites that can create solar eclipses on a schedule.

This is an overview of technical challenges for engineers to overcome and the testing needed to confirm instruments would work before launch.

Scientific Requirements

Credit: ESA

It is vitally important for humanity to have a better understanding of the Sun’s corona as this is the region that’s responsible for space weather and solar winds. Without this knowledge, we can’t fully understand how our local star works and what impact it can have on our daily lives. But this is a region that we’re not able to study in detail as the Sun’s brightness hides it from our instruments. Looking directly into the Sun is never a good idea. Pointing a telescope directly at it is an absolutely sure shot way to lose your eyesight.