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Space Situational Awareness Programme
The Space Safety Programme, formerly the Space Situational Awareness (SSA) programme, is the European Space Agency's (ESA) initiative to monitor hazards from space, determine their risk, make this data available to the appropriate authorities and where possible, mitigate the threat. Programme The SSA Programme was designed to support Space policy of the European Union, Europe's independent space access and utilization through the timely and accurate information delivery regarding the space environment, particularly hazards to both in-orbit and ground infrastructure. In 2019 it evolved into the present Space Safety Programme with an expanded focus, also including missions and activities to mitigate and prevent dangers from space. The programme is split into four main segments: * Space weather: monitoring the Sun, the solar wind, and in Earth's magnetosphere, ionosphere and thermosphere, that can affect spaceborne and ground-based infrastructure or endanger human life or health. This ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
European Space Agency
The European Space Agency (ESA) is a 23-member International organization, international organization devoted to space exploration. With its headquarters in Paris and a staff of around 2,547 people globally as of 2023, ESA was founded in 1975 in the context of European integration. Its 2025 annual budget was €7.7 billion. The ESA Human and Robotic Exploration programme includes human spaceflight (mainly through participation in the International Space Station programme); as well as the launch and operation of missions to Mars and Moon. Further activities include science missions to Jupiter, Mercury, the Sun, Earth observation, Asteroid impact avoidance and Telecommunications missions, designing launch vehicles; and maintaining Europe's Spaceport, the Guiana Space Centre at Kourou (French Guiana). Further programmes include space safety, satellite navigation, applications and commercialisation. The main European launch vehicle Ariane 6 is operated through Arianespace ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Space Weather
Space weather is a branch of space physics and aeronomy, or heliophysics, concerned with the varying conditions within the Solar System and its heliosphere. This includes the effects of the solar wind, especially on the Earth's magnetosphere, ionosphere, thermosphere, and exosphere. Though physically distinct, space weather is analogous to the terrestrial weather of Earth's atmosphere of Earth, atmosphere (troposphere and stratosphere). The term "space weather" was first used in the 1950s and popularized in the 1990s. Later, it prompted research into "space climate", the large-scale and long-term patterns of space weather. History For many centuries, the effects of space weather were noticed, but not understood. Displays of aurora (astronomy), auroral light have long been observed at high latitudes. Beginnings In 1724, George Graham (clockmaker), George Graham reported that the needle of a magnetic compass was regularly deflected from magnetic north over the course of each day. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Optical Telescopes
An optical telescope gathers and focuses light mainly from the visible part of the electromagnetic spectrum, to create a magnified image for direct visual inspection, to make a photograph, or to collect data through electronic image sensors. There are three primary types of optical telescope : * ''Refracting telescopes'', which use lenses and less commonly also prisms ( dioptrics) * ''Reflecting telescopes'', which use mirrors ( catoptrics) * '' Catadioptric telescopes'', which combine lenses and mirrors An optical telescope's ability to resolve small details is directly related to the diameter (or aperture) of its objective (the primary lens or mirror that collects and focuses the light), and its light-gathering power is related to the area of the objective. The larger the objective, the more light the telescope collects and the finer detail it resolves. People use optical telescopes (including monoculars and binoculars) for outdoor activities such as observational astr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Radio Telescope
A radio telescope is a specialized antenna (radio), antenna and radio receiver used to detect radio waves from astronomical radio sources in the sky. Radio telescopes are the main observing instrument used in radio astronomy, which studies the radio frequency portion of the electromagnetic spectrum, just as optical telescopes are used to make observations in the visible light, visible portion of the spectrum in traditional optical astronomy. Unlike optical telescopes, radio telescopes can be used in the daytime as well as at night. Since astronomical radio sources such as planets, stars, nebulas and galaxy, galaxies are very far away, the radio waves coming from them are extremely weak, so radio telescopes require very large antennas to collect enough radio energy to study them, and extremely sensitive receiving equipment. Radio telescopes are typically large Parabolic antenna, parabolic ("dish") antennas similar to those employed in tracking and communicating with satellites an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
ESA Centre For Earth Observation
The ESA Centre for Earth Observation (also known as the European Space Research Institute or ESRIN) is a research centre belonging to the European Space Agency (ESA), located in Frascati (Rome) Italy. It is dedicated to research involving earth observation data taken from satellites, among other specialised activities. The establishment currently hosts the European Space Agency's development team for the Vega launcher. History ESLAR, a laboratory for advanced research was created in 1966 mainly to break the political deadlock over the location of ESLAB. Later renamed ESRIN, an acronym for European Space Research Institute, ESLAR was based in Frascati (Italy). The ESRO Convention describes ESRINs' role in the following manner: The facility began acquiring data from environmental satellites within Earthnet programme in the 1970s. See also * European Astronaut Centre (EAC) * European Centre for Space Applications and Telecommunications (ECSAT) * European Space Agency (ESA) ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Near-Earth Object Coordination Centre
The Near-Earth Object Coordination Centre (NEOCC) is the main centre of the Planetary Defence Office of the European Space Agency (ESA). The NEOCC, which is based at ESRIN in Frascati, Italy, coordinates observations of small bodies such as asteroids and comets in the Solar System in order to evaluate and monitor the threat posed by those potentially hazardous. The Coordination Centre also conducts studies with the purpose of improving near-Earth object warning services. These are necessary to give real-time alerts to different organizations, scientific bodies, and decision-makers. From 2012, the NEOCC web portal provided data calculated by the University of Pisa The University of Pisa (, UniPi) is a public university, public research university in Pisa, Italy. Founded in 1343, it is one of the oldest universities in Europe. Together with Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa and Sant'Anna School of Advanced S ... spin-off company NEODyS. From 2019 to 2020, NEOCC implemented its o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
NEOSTEL
The Near Earth Object Survey TELescope (NEOSTEL), also known as "Flyeye", is an astronomical survey and early-warning system for detecting near-Earth objects sized and above a few weeks before they impact Earth. NEOSTEL is a project founded by the European Space Agency (ESA), starting with an initial prototype currently under construction at OHB in Italy. The telescope is of a new "fly-eye" design inspired by the wide field of vision from a fly's eye. The design combines a single objective reflector with multiple sets of optics and CCDs, giving a very wide field of view (around , or 220 times the area of the full moon). When complete it will have one of the widest fields of view of any telescope and be able to survey the majority of the visible sky in a single night. If the initial prototype is successful, three more telescopes are planned, in complementary positions around the globe close to the equator. In terms of light gathering power, the size of the primary mirror i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
OGS Telescope
The ESA Optical Ground Station (''OGS Telescope'' or ''ESA Space Debris Telescope'') is the European Space Agency's ground based Astronomical observatory, observatory at the Teide Observatory on Tenerife, Spain, built for the observation of space debris. OGS is part of the Artemis (satellite), Artemis experiment and is operated by the IAC (Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias) and Ataman Science S.L.U. The observatory is a 1-meter Coudé telescope with a field of view of 0.7 degrees, supported by an Equatorial mount#Cross-axis mount, English cross-axial mount inside a dome 12.5-meters in diameter. Its main purposes are: # to be the optical ground station of the Artemis (satellite), Artemis telecommunications satellite (the project from which the telescope takes its name) # to survey space debris in different orbits around the Earth, # to conduct surveys and follow-up observations of near-Earth objects as part of ESA's Space Situational Awareness programme, and # to make scienti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Impact Event
An impact event is a collision between astronomical objects causing measurable effects. Impact events have been found to regularly occur in planetary systems, though the most frequent involve asteroids, comets or meteoroids and have minimal effect. When large objects impact terrestrial planets such as the Earth, there can be significant physical and Biosphere, biospheric consequences, as the impacting body is usually traveling at several kilometres per second (km/s), with a minimum impact speed of 11.2 km/s (7.0 mi/s) for bodies striking Earth. Atmosphere, While planetary atmospheres can mitigate some of these impacts through the effects of atmospheric entry, many large bodies retain sufficient energy to reach the surface and cause substantial damage. This results in the formation of Impact crater, impact craters and Impact structure, structures, shaping the dominant landforms found across various types of solid objects found in the Solar System. Their prevalence and ubiquity pres ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Near-Earth Object
A near-Earth object (NEO) is any small Solar System body orbiting the Sun whose closest approach to the Sun ( perihelion) is less than 1.3 times the Earth–Sun distance (astronomical unit, AU). This definition applies to the object's orbit around the Sun, rather than its current position, thus an object with such an orbit is considered an NEO even at times when it is far from making a close approach of Earth. If an NEO's orbit crosses the Earth's orbit, and the object is larger than across, it is considered a potentially hazardous object (PHO). Most known PHOs and NEOs are asteroids, but about a third of a percent are comets. There are over 37,000 known near-Earth asteroids (NEAs) and over 120 known short-period near-Earth comets (NECs). A number of solar-orbiting meteoroids were large enough to be tracked in space before striking Earth. It is now widely accepted that collisions in the past have had a significant role in shaping the geological and biological history of Ea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Belgium
Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to the south, and the North Sea to the west. Belgium covers an area of and has a population of more than 11.8 million; its population density of ranks List of countries and dependencies by population density, 22nd in the world and Area and population of European countries, sixth in Europe. The capital and Metropolitan areas in Belgium, largest metropolitan region is City of Brussels, Brussels; other major cities are Antwerp, Ghent, Charleroi, Liège, Bruges, Namur, and Leuven. Belgium is a parliamentary system, parliamentary constitutional monarchy with a complex Federation, federal system structured on regional and linguistic grounds. The country is divided into three highly autonomous Communities, regions and language areas o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Redu Station
Redu Station is an ESTRACK radio antenna station for communication with spacecraft. The station is located in Wallonia, about one kilometer away from the village of Redu, Belgium, where it has been tracking satellites since 1968. The ground terminals provide tracking capabilities in C band, L-band, S-band The S band is a designation by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) for a part of the microwave band of the electromagnetic spectrum covering frequencies from 2 to 4 gigahertz (GHz). Thus it crosses the convention ..., Ku band, and Ka band as well as provide in-orbit tests of telecommunication satellites. Redu Station was recognized and fully integrated as an ESA Centre in 2009. References External links ESA webpage on ESTRACKESA/ESTRACK Redu station pageESA Redu ground station gallery ESTRACK facilities Buildings and structures in Luxembourg (Belgium) Libin, Belgium {{space-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
