Sentinel-2C operators full ultimate rehearsals

A quiet ambiance pervades ESOC’s Important Management Room. The operations workforce is within the strategy of inserting a satellite tv for pc into orbit. We’re one minute away from passing over one floor station and the strain is rising as we eagerly wait to obtain the primary telemetry from the satellite tv for pc.

Then, immediately, an alarm is triggered, the sunshine modifications color and crackling sounds will be heard. A hearth has damaged out within the room. The evacuation is ordered. The management room have to be deserted, and the satellite tv for pc operations relocated to an adjoining room.

This was only a simulation of what might occur throughout a satellite tv for pc’s first and most crucial moments in house. To make sure a clean begin to operations, the management workforce should take into account each doable state of affairs, whether or not it occurs in house or on the bottom – resembling a fireplace alarm.

This summer time, because the launch of the Copernicus Sentinel-2C satellite tv for pc approaches, the management workforce situated at ESOC, ESA’s operations centre in Germany, has been performing a vital section of the launch preparation, reviewing and revising the satellite tv for pc’s and floor section’s plans and procedures to ensure the success of the mission.

This ‘workforce of groups’ effort concerned over 40 engineers and scientists – engaged on the bottom section, flight dynamics, software program and networks – all able to assume management of the satellite tv for pc following raise off.

After weeks and weeks of simulations, the workforce has accomplished this section and is now absolutely ready for the launch and deployment of the European Fee’s newest Earth commentary mission, to be lifted into orbit by a Vega rocket from Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana on 4 September at 03:50 CEST.

“This isn’t the primary Sentinel mission we function right here at ESOC. Our expertise has helped us standardise our method in order that we’re capable of take a look at ourselves on the widest vary of anomalies whereas nonetheless dealing with essentially the most difficult conditions,” says Franco Marchese, Flight Operations Director for Sentinel-2C.

“One in all our primary challenges has been the data switch to the partially new workforce, because the earlier fashions of Sentinel-2 was launched greater than seven years in the past,” says Pete Collins, Deputy Flight Operations Director for Sentinel-2C.

“Our workforce has been flying Sentinel satellites and performing routine operations, together with the A and B fashions of Sentinel-2, however placing a spacecraft into orbit is all the time a fancy section with its personal distinctive challenges. We now have ready very effectively and have achieved this in a comparatively brief time.”

“Like throwing monsters on the operators”

From a room within the basement, the true conductors of the simulation marketing campaign, the simulation officers lead by aerospace engineer Gustavo Bardo Carvalho, are operating the present they usually all the time have a couple of string to their bow.

“The function of this train is to check the workforce’s capabilities to detect issues, adapt their timeline and, extra usually, adapt to the state of affairs underneath stress and time strain,” explains Gustavo. “It looks like organising a role-playing recreation. We confront the workforce with ‘monsters’ – on this case, anomalies of minor or main magnitude – and allow them to give you options, suppose exterior the field, have inventive concepts, and study from their errors.”

From the simulations room, the place flight information is simulated and fed to the management room, Gustavo and his workforce have been difficult the Sentinel-2C management workforce with an exhaustive checklist of points to resolve, from errors injected within the information, to the lack of floor stations, absence of workforce members (simulated illness), and instrument and transmission failures.

Some are frequent and anticipated, others require the mission management workforce to brainstorm and train the communication between many multidisciplinary groups, such because the flight management workforce, trade companions, flight dynamics, the ESA house particles workplace, mission management system software program and the bottom stations.

“We made certain to not essentially give a transparent answer. Similar to in actual life, generally the most effective response is simply to attempt to keep away from the worst penalties, and we all the time remind them that actuality will be a lot nastier than any simulation we could invent.”

Some distinctive eventualities had been additionally included to pressure the workforce to adapt with out their traditional tools and deviate completely from the nominal timeline resembling house particles hazards, disruptions ensuing from the photo voltaic wind or the evacuation of the management room.

“Lately, we simulated an area particles collision alert which required the workforce to make the satellite tv for pc prepared to interact in a collision avoidance manoeuvre. This meant skipping the standard steps and commissioning the satellite tv for pc as early as doable.”

On prime of testing their technical data, the simulation marketing campaign performs a task in constructing the workforce.

“There are lots of occasions that may hurt the workforce spirit: from individuals being sick to managers being impolite or non-cooperative. We tried to simulate these moments to check the nerves of the workforce and make them extra resilient.”

Gown rehearsal

Lastly, groups at ESOC labored with the joint ESA, Arianespace and trade launch workforce in Kourou to finish the great ultimate simulation of the countdown and launch sequence.

Throughout the rehearsal, the mission management workforce acquired reside indicators from the satellite tv for pc by way of an umbilical connection that will likely be disconnected shortly earlier than launch. With this final step accomplished, the mission management workforce is now able to launch the satellite tv for pc.