A pragmatic way was found to establish communication in Italian, see the smartphone picture of the comms team involved in the ESOC wiring centre (Andrea D’Alessandro, Kevin Bergamo, Ernesto Doelling) taken by me as the IT coordinator on duty.
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]]>The local community were very excited about the event “their” dish was supporting, and the local newspapers were full of articles explaining every detail of the mission.
Our team was responsible for the reception, decoding, and recording of the telemetry as well as its transmission via leased lines to the control centre at ESOC. My personal task was the reception of telemetry messages from the PCM Preprocessor, their recording on big magnetic tapes, and their forwarding to the comms equipment. We were all very excited as the date of the encounter approached. As we had finished our preparatory installations well in time, there was not always work waiting to be done, so we also enjoyed some leisure time – mainly outside spacecraft passes – and in the evenings we were sometimes having good fun at the observatory quarters. We even made local friends in the vicinity, and I remember a big party with a spit-roasted suckling pig on a grill, where at some advanced hour Boris tought us the Swedish frogs dance (I *must* find a picture of that unforgotten event!).
One day before the encounter we had the great opportunity to take pictures of Halley’s comet with our cameras mounted on tripods standing on the big dish while it was tracking the spacecraft. We could keep the camera lens open for a few minutes, thus getting an undistorted picture of the comet with its tail.
Finally, when the day of the encounter had arrived, everybody was excitedly waiting for the predicted moment where Giotto would either hit the comet or pass by at a small distance. We were all assembled in the main antenna control room and were eagerly staring at the pen recorder showing the satellite’s downlink signal. Exactly at countdown time zero the signal dropped out, and everybody was sure the probe had crashed on the comet’s surface. But a few seconds later, like a phoenix, the signal recovered, showing however a strange pattern of several overlaying sine waves. It became clear that the collision had caused Giotto to tumble and spin around in a way that its antenna was no longer pointing towards the earth. This situation persisted during several minutes, with the signal becoming stronger and stronger, so that there was even hope that Giotto could have survived. But at 00:10:57 UTC on March 14 1986, seven minutes after the encounter, the signal finally dropped completely, and the Giotto mission was over.
Four years later, in 1992, the probe could successfully be reactivated during an earth fly-by, and sent to another comet, Grigg-Skjellerup. Its final decommissioning took place in 1992.
This mission has doubtlessly been one of the greatest and most exciting adventures of my life.
]]>So it was a FCT-A Sim and SoftCoord-A Gianpiero would be on shift. I contacted Ritchie Kay, at the time our SoftCoord-B, to help me with the task of installing a “fake” virus in the MCS. Ritchie designed a python script that when executed would block the screen of a specific client. Here what he sent me during the preparation:
“…What it does is to fill the right-hand screen with a grey box with skull and crossbones in the middle with
the message ‘This station has been infected by the MSG-3 Death Virus!’ in large letters. This message is
always on-top and can’t be minimised – hence the workstation becomes unusable. I put it on the
right-hand screen so that you can see it on VSDS….” It was brilliant, Ritchie!
Suddenly, Gianpiero started to get desperate calls coming from PSR where the poor PST was suffering from a “virus” attack. It did not take too much time and the “virus” also spread to the MCR….and Cross Bones in all Monitors everywhere…poor SWS colleagues!
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An ESA Bulletin about ESOC
An ESA Bulletin from 1976 – one of the first ones – was dedicated entirely to ESOC:
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Roger Bonnet with Rosetta model Credit: ESA
Editor’s note: Dr Roger Bonnet was ESA’s Director of Scientific Programmes from 1983-2001.
When I think of ESOC, I remember without doubt seeing the first image coming from Meteosat, the first European meteorological satellite, whose story I witnessed as a colleague of Pierre Morel, father of this long lineage, and the development and flight of which I observed and admired from ESOC back in 1978.
Of course, the night of 13 March 1986 − when Giotto flew by Halley’s comet − will remain an unforgettable historic moment, for not only those who watched Halley in 1910 and those who might see its return in 2061, but for hundreds of millions of TV viewers around the world. This would not have been possible without the precise ‘driving’ of Giotto, as well as the very professional set-up developed especially by ESOC, which stunned the world and the great bosses of the space agencies who participated in this unique moment.
This view of Comet Halley’s nucleus was obtained by the Halley Multicolour Camera (HMC) on board the Giotto spacecraft, as it passed within 600 km of the comet nucleus on 13 March 1986. Credit: ESA/MPAe Lindau
Six years later, I remember the second encounter of Giotto in July 1992 with Grigg-Skjellurup − and another beautiful event organized by ESOC for that occasion − following a long hibernation.
I also associate ESOC with Rosetta and Philae’s historic landing − which made me cry − that ESOC organized so well, and for which I was gratified by the presence and expressions of recognition from so many actors in space exploration today, not forgetting the ever-so-emotional address of the NASA representative. And the even more emotional and discreet tears of the ESOC control team after they drove their baby, their beloved pet, which drove their daily life for so many years, to a definitive rest on an ultimate orbit on the dusty ground of ‘Chury’. These hard-working ESOC teams moved me deeply.
Drama in 1989
Soyuz-Fregat launch of first pair of Cluster satellites from Baikonur in Kazakhstan, 15 July 2000. Credit: ESA/Starsem
Nor can I forget the very dramatic moments of the summer of 1989, following the non-ignition of the Ariane 4’s upper-stage Mage motor, which was supposed to place Hipparcos on its geostationary orbit?
It is also impossible to forget the even-more dramatic moment following the loss of the first Cluster mission on 4 June 1996, to which ESOC had contributed so much effort in developing a very sophisticated control system. In just a few seconds, this system became an orphan from its unique four-satellite mission and completely useless. Deeply sharing the frustration and despair of all of those at ESOC, who had spent so many years on this mission, and witnessing, mute and with tears in our eyes, that dramatic ending, I proposed to Reimar Lüst, the Director General of ESA when Cluster was decided, that we go to ESOC, by ourselves, privately, and talk to and console the engineers and the control team after this dramatic event.
I made on that occasion a promise that Cluster would be rebuilt and relaunched, even though I did not yet know how to realize this. This, indeed, was done in just four years, and in July and August of 2000 the mission was relaunched using two consecutive launches of a Soyuz rocket and the ESOC control capabilities.
Integration test of ESA’s satellite Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) at Toulouse (France) in April 1995. Credit: ESA
Can I forget SOHO lost at Lagrange point L1 in June 1998, which NASA was not very keen to keep controlling, but was nevertheless recovered and resurrected in less than two months, in August 1998, when ESOC once more − as one of the most motivated and active contributors − provided another demonstration that in space, whatever happens: never give up!
And can I forget my last long trip abroad just four months before my departure from ESA in April 2001, when I participated to an extraordinary visit to Australia for the inauguration of the New Norcia ground station antenna?
That memorable event was not only official but found me involved in awarding a prize to the best contributions from some young Australian school children invited to express what in their view space exploration meant to them.This contest was organized by the head of ESOC Communication, Jocelyne Landeau-Constantin.
The winner was a young boy about 12 or 13 years old. I invited him up onto the stage to congratulate him and present him his award. Then I asked him:
Bonnet: Now that you have won the contest what is it that you want to do after school?
The young winner: I want to be a rocket driver!
Bonnet: Where will you go with your rocket?
The young winner: I want to go to Mars!
Bonnet: And what will you do on Mars?
The young winner: I will find a good place to land. Then I will plant the Austrian flag. After that, I will look around to find the nearest tree and… pee on it!
This beautiful story enchanted me and still does so many years after the New Norcia inauguration.
ESA’s 35 m-diameter deep-space tracking station at New Norcia, Australia, seen in a full panorama in 2002. Credit: ESA
What amazed me most about ESOC?
In summary, to me, ESOC is synonymous with competence, professionalism, talent, dedication and sense of service. Particularly impressive is the team spirit that dominates all the acts and operations of all ESOC engineers.
There exists, indeed, a unique interpretation of humanism by all ESOC agents, which for so many years, has made a delight of my visits to Darmstadt, and created an unforgettable friendship with so many of these fantastic people.
How will satellites be controlled in 50 years from now?
Residents of Earth’s northern hemisphere enjoyed the greatest number of daylight hours in a single day all year on 21 June 2017. This summer solstice occurs when the tilt of Earth’s axis is most inclined towards the Sun, which sits directly over the Tropic of Cancer. Credit: ESA/NASA
In 50 years from now, external space will be crowded with a myriad of large and small satellites, for telecommunications, Earth observation, research and science, and this will all be a challenge and probably a nightmare for the ESOC magicians, making their present job look like a children’s game.
In 50 years, many more dish antennas will be installed in all parts of the world, always bigger and better, for controlling all these satellites. ESOC might follow with interest the forthcoming progress in quantum communications and its engineers are probably the best in the world to tell me how that will work!
What will be the most daring mission in the next ten years?
Flight Control team during a simulation session in the Main Control Room at ESOC
Reflecting on the fascination of all human beings as to where we come from, how was our Universe born and understanding the nature of time, the mission which will contribute the most to solving these mysteries is that which will detect gravitational waves from the so-called Big Bang. These waves were emitted at the time of that incredible event.
LISA Pathfinder Flight Control Team training Credit: ESA – CC BY-SA IGO 3.0
That mission, today, is ESA’s LISA mission. I hope to be alive when it will detect these long-searched-for cosmic messengers. Achieving such distant space observations while driving LISA through deep space will offer a fantastic new challenge for ESOC – which I am sure they will undoubtedly and successfully take up, opening the path to the new era of 21st century astronomy.
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ESA’s Director of Human Spaceflight and Operations, Thomas Reiter (second from right) with members of the mission control team in the Main Control Room at ESOC, 3 December 2015, for the launch of LISA Pathfinder. Credit: ESA/K. Siewert
During these 50 years the colleagues at ESOC have operated more than 80 satellites. Most of these missions were ‘firsts’, ranging from satellites in Earth orbit to interplanetary probes. Not a single mission has been lost, and in some very spectacular cases satellites were rescued after being in an off-nominal situation. A wealth of expertise in all areas of building the ground segments and operating satellites has been acquired by teams with talents from all over Europe. This expertise is unique in Europe.
I am amazed, first of all, with the team spirit which I experienced at ESOC. Running all those unique missions glues together colleagues from all over Europe, ensuring mission success. This became impressively apparent in November 2014, when Philae touched down on the surface of Comet 67/P Churyumov-Gerasimenko just three seconds after the calculated time – absolutely fascinating – and all happening more than 500 million kilometres from Earth!
ESA astronaut Thomas Reiter wearing ESA’s Eye Tracking Device during his six-month Astrolab mission to the International Space Station in 2006. Credit: ESA/NASA
Fifty years from now, in the course of developments in the field of artificial intelligence, I expect an increasing autonomy of satellites. This will affect the size of future control teams and shift their tasks. In any event, we need to lead this trend.
The most daring mission in the next ten years? In terms of upcoming missions, I believe that a smooth landing of the ExoMars rover on the surface of Mars will be a huge challenge, and I have full confidence that we learned all we can from the Schiaparelli lander.
In more general terms I believe that the adaptation of ESOC and all our colleagues to the future demands of operations is a daring project, but I have no doubts that this will be achieved.
Thomas Reiter at a press briefing at ESOC in 2011. Credit: ESA
This episode took place on the 7th of November of 2005, just two days before we launched Venus Express. Christoph and me are staring intently into a laptop during preparations for launch. Daniel Scuka was visiting the Main Control Room and took this photo which got published on the ESA website and subsequently has been used in innumerous posters, brochures and countless newsletters, both from ESA and also from our Industrial partners, as “the two Venus Express engineers preparing for launch”.
We kept quiet all these years, but now it’s finally time we came clean and reveal what was really going on there.
This was the Dress Rehearsal for launch in the Main Control Room, with all ground systems having a final check-out, communications exercised, and sequence of events replicated, and as such, a lot of things are going on, but as very little of it involved the real spacecraft, it didn’t have much to do with us, two spacecraft sub-systems engineers (I was Power/Thermal and Christoph was AOCS – Attitude and Orbit Control System), which meant we had to man our positions but had nothing to do for several hours, so technically speaking, we were bored. Christoph (yes, I think it was you!) challenged me for a game of Risk (he says I challenged him). Anyway, there we were, both highly concentrated deploying our armies and trying to achieve world domination, when Daniel came along and snapped this photo. Much to our shame, it started circulating the world of media with a very different caption to it, but knowing this would not make a great example for future generations of flight engineers, we just kept quiet about it.
One aspect to note is that Christoph was wearing on this day his beloved Rosetta sweater with distinctive pink lettering on it. This had to be photoshopped out, because we were obviously doing Venus Express!
In spite of our little sin, Venus Express went on to fly flawlessly for 9 years until it finally ran out of fuel, and I was privileged to have been part of it for most of that time.
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]]>MSG3’s Yesterday
Yesterday,
All my commands sent so far away
Now it looks as they’re here to stay
Oh, I believe in yesterday.
Suddenly,
Oh the SOM was looking over me
All his shadows hanging I could see.
Oh, yesterday, in MSG.
Why she had to go, I do know, it had to be
I sent no sequence wrong, now I long for MSG.
Yesterday,
Sims were not a easy game to play.
Now I need a place to hide away.
Oh, I believe in MSG
Why she had to go, I do know, it had to be
I sent no sequence wrong, now I long for MSG.
Yesterday,
Sims were not a easy game to play.
Now I need a place to hide away.
Oh, I believe in MSG
Somm, Somm, Somm, Somm, Somm, Som, Som
]]>Accordingly, the manoeuvring of space astronomy missions into their operational orbits is also now a nail-biting business. For me, the slow passage of Herschel and Planck out to their final deep-space orbits beyond the lunar orbit and first light were critical experiences. It is ESOC that carries responsibility for such key stages in delivery of the science that ultimately is what really matters. It is then that ESOC has to deliver.
This they do. It requires intense professionalism. Perhaps what strikes me most is that all this is taken for granted as being so.
From a personal point of view, one event dominates.
Landing the Huygens probe on Titan in 2005 marked Europe’s definitive arrival in planetary exploration. I had been haunted by the loss in the previous year of the Beagle 2 Mars lander. Its British team had drawn on the experience of working on Huygens (built and launched long before Beagle was begun). In fact, the Titan descent and landing went well and the world gasped. Europe was out on the final frontier.
What do I next anticipate?
To be frank, it is the landing of a Mars Rover in the 2020 ExoMars mission. Beyond that, as space applications are increasingly absorbed into our everyday life, I trust also that we in Europe can come up with a long-term plan for Europe’s part in space exploration and astronomy. If we can face that challenge, wherever the trends of “New Space” take us, I am sure that as long as we want to explore the planets and the universe beyond, large space missions will have an important part to play. That needs to be done professionally.
Accordingly, I look forward to the next 50 years of ESOC with enthusiasm.
]]>I was in the room near the Dedicated Controlled Room (DCR), in which the HP1000 computers for the scientific data analysis and the access terminals were located. One of the observatory scientists, Arvind Parmar, was in the same room. It was 18:54 GMT, that is about 9 p.m., when we heard the alarm ringing, and the spacecraft controller called us from the DCR: the Medium Energy detector had reached the alarm threshold on the number of counts. I produced a graphic plot on the workstation, which showed a narrow peak of the detected counts. This could only mean one thing: a source. Since no known source of this intensity was predicted to pass over our detectors during the slew, we were already quite sure that Exosat had detected a new X-ray star! Arvind rushed in the computers room, quickly transferred the telemetry data to the science computers and produced, within minutes, a power spectrum of the signal. He came back in the DCR with a smile and a hardcopy in his hands. He showed the spectrum to us. The shape was a power law, the typical signature of a X-ray pulsar. We had some software tools to determine with enough accuracy the position in the sky at which Exosat was pointing the instruments at the time of the event. After having calculated the position, we passed the information to our mission planning team to obtain some high priority observation time for the new target. The Exosat observatory had the flexibility to re-arrange observation slots and targets on short notice, if important scientific reasons required it. And a new pulsar was important enough. In fact we carried out this first observation on the new source in the same night at 22:43, just a few hours after the discovery.
In the following days we carried out several observations of the pulsar, which was named very poetically EXO 2030+375, after its position in the celestial sphere. A X-ray pulsar is a very small (of the order of a few km diameter), extremely dense and quickly rotating remnant of a dead star, which orbits around another star, from which it attracts plasma (ionised gas) due to its intense gravitational field. The plasma is accelerated and emits high energy radiation, which is observed by X-ray detectors above the Earth atmosphere. If the orbit of the pulsar around the companion star is very elongated, the pulsar only “sucks” plasma from the star when it comes close to it, and therefore it only emits X-rays in limited parts of its revolution. This is why we have “transient” X-ray pulsars, and this is why it is so difficult to discover them.
The light curve, that is the intensity of the X-ray signal over the rotation period (42 seconds) was determined. It was a very typical, stable light curve that could be observed in other X-ray binary systems. The small variations of the pulsar rotation period measured in the various observations allowed us to estimate the period of revolution of the pulsar around its companion star (between 44 and 48 days). We could now reasonably well predict the next time in which our transient X-ray pulsar would become visible again. Of course we planned new observations with Exosat around the predicted time of maximum intensity.
The day of the start of the new observation campaign, on October 29th, at 15:59 GMT, I happened to be again on shift in the control room. Peter Vogt, the spacecraft controller on shift, announced that the slew to the target was completed, and I could see on my screen the rising signal of EXO 2030+375. This was a typical effect when a bright source was coming in the field of view of the detectors. In this case, though, the signal continued to rise even minutes after the end of the slew. I asked Peter: “When do you stabilise the spacecraft, Peter?”. He replied, calmly: “It is stable like a rock”. He showed me the readings of the attitude control sensors, confirming the pointing attitude was stable within the nominal limits. Something did not fit: If the pointing was stable, why was the X-ray signal rising? Nick White, the chief observatory scientist, Arvind Parmar and Luigi Stella were there, scratching their heads. There was only one explanation: We were witnessing a X-ray flare, that is a sudden variation of the signal intensity of the X-ray pulsar. This was a behaviour that we had not observed at all in the first campaign, and it made the source even more exotic and exciting! The light curve had also changed shape, and it kept changing its shape during the entire second observations campaign. In the following observation we kept Exosat pointing at the source for 23 hours, observing six flares each lasting 1.3 to 2.3 hours and repeating every 3.96 hours. It was fantastic to see this object – “our” pulsar – behaving in such a beautiful and unexpected way! The fact that the periodicity of the flares could not be related to the orbital period was observed for the first time in a X-ray binary pulsar.
]]>Do you remember it? Do you have any old images from that day?
For those of you who prefer video: Here’s a Giotto documentary from the 1980ies.
Does anyone of you still have images from the 1960ties?
ATV Blog – Reporting on ATV missions to the ISS
Rosetta Blog – Covering Rosetta’s ten-year comet journey
Mars Express Blog – Interplanetary science from the Red Planet
VMC – the Mars Webcam – An ordinary camera in an extraordinary place!
Raumzeit Podcast – Space podcast series produced in cooperation with the German Aerospace Center (in German)
Blog archives
(no longer updated but great information)
Thomas Reiter EVA Blog – Real-time coverage of ESA astronaut Thomas Reiter’s 2006 spacewalk during Europe’s first long-duration mission to the ISS
ATV Jules Verne – 2008 ATV 1 blog covering launch, docking and reentry and including extensive post archives, images, audio and video (also in French & German)
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