Venus within ESA probe reach (Forwarded)

European Space Agency
Press Release No. 12-2006
Paris, France 31 March 2006

Venus within ESA probe reach

After its five-month, 400-million-kilometre journey inside our Solar
System following its lift-off on 9 November 2005, ESA's Venus
Express spacecraft will finally arrive on 11 April at its
destination: planet Venus.

Venus Express mission controllers at the ESA Space Operations Centre
(ESOC) in Darmstadt, Germany, are making intensive preparations for
orbit insertion.

This comprises a series of telecommands, engine burns and manoeuvres
designed to slow the spacecraft down from a velocity of 29000 km per
hour relative to Venus, just before the first burn, to an entry
velocity some 15% slower, allowing the spacecraft to be captured
into orbit around the planet.

The spacecraft will have to ignite its main engine for 50 minutes
in order to achieve deceleration and place itself into a highly
elliptical orbit around the planet. Most of its 570 kg of onboard
propellant will be used for this manoeuvre. The spacecraft's solar
arrays will be positioned so as to reduce the possibility of
excessive mechanical load during engine ignition.

Over the subsequent days, a series of additional burns will be done
to lower the orbit apocentre and to control the pericentre. The aim
is to end up in a 24-hour orbit around Venus early in May.

The Venus Orbit Injection operations can be followed live at ESA
establishments, with ESOC acting as focal point of interest (see
attached programme). In all establishments, ESA specialists will
be on hand for interviews.

ESA TV will cover this event live from ESOC in Darmstadt. The live
transmission will be carried free-to-air. For broadcasters, complete
details of the various satellite feeds are listed at
http://television.esa.int.

The event will be covered on the web at venus.esa.int. The website
will feature regular updates, including video coverage of the press
conference and podcast from the control room at ESA's Space
Operations Centre.

Media representatives wishing to follow the event at one of the ESA
establishments listed below are requested to fill in the attached
registration form and fax it back to the place of their choice.

For further information, please contact:

ESA Media Relations Division
Tel : +33(0)1.53.69.7155
Fax: +33(0)1.53.69.7690

Venus Express Orbit Insertion * Tuesday 11 April 2006
ESA/ESOC
Robert Bosch Strasse, 5
Darmstadt (Germany)

PROGRAMME

07:30 Doors open
08:45 Start of local event, welcome addresses
09:10 ESA TV live from Mission Control Room (MCR) starts
09:17 Engine burn sequence starts
09:45 Occultation of spacecraft by Venus starts
09:55 Occultation ends
10:07 Main engine burn ends
10:20 Address by Jean-Jacques Dordain, ESA's Director General,
and other officials

Break and buffet
Interview opportunities

11:30- Press Conference
12:15 Jean-Jacques Dordain, Director General, ESA
Prof. David Southwood, Director of Science, ESA
Gaele Winters, Director of Operations and Infrastructure,
ESA
Manfred Warhaut, Flight Operations Director, ESA
Håkan Svedhem, Venus Express Project Scientist, ESA
Don McCoy, Venus Express Project Manager, ESA

13:15 End of event at ESOC

More about...

* Looking at Venus
http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Venus_Express/index.html
* Status reports
http://sci.esa.int/science-e/www/obj...objectid=31575
&farchive_objecttypeid=30 &farchive_objectid=30930
* Venus Express factsheet
http://www.esa.int/esaSC/SEM2EE1A6BD_index_0.html

Related articles

* And now straight to Venus!
http://www.esa.int/esaSC/SEMIMWMVGJE_index_0.html
* Successful Venus Express main engine test
http://www.esa.int/esaCP/SEMVX5MVGJE_index_0.html
* First light for the Venus Monitoring Camera
http://www.esa.int/esaCP/SEMLWVULWFE_index_0.html
* Venus Express performs flawlessly, LEOP complete
http://www.esa.int/esaCP/SEMK9UJBWFE_index_0.html
* Venus Express mission operations update
http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/ESOC/SEM780738FE_0.html
* Venus Express en route to probe the planet's hidden mysteries
http://www.esa.int/esaCP/SEM56Q638FE_index_0.html

Related links

* ESA Mission Operations

http://www.esa.int/spacecraftops/ESO...551445449.html
* Cebreros webcam

http://www.esa.int/spacecraftops/ESO...749851476.html

IMAGE CAPTION:
[http://www.esa.int/esaCP/SEME02NFGLE_index_1.html]
An artist's impression of the first firing test of the Venus Express
spacecraft main engine, being performed in space during the night of 16/17
February 2006. The burn started at 01:27 CET and lasted about three
seconds.

Credits: ESA