The GIOVE-A Satellite: From Design to in-orbit Commissioning

摘要

In July 2003 the European Space Agency (ESA) placed a 28 million Euro contract with Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd (SSTL) for the delivery, in 2005, of a GALILEO experimental satellite, part of the GALILEO System Test Bed - GSTB - activities, and now named Giove-A. Giove-A was designed, built and launched in less than 30 months. The satellite carries both ESA-furnished and SSTL-developed payload elements, giving an advanced and flexible capability suited for the missions primary aim of frequency filing and also for technology demonstration, environmental monitoring and signal experimentation. Giove-A was launched on the 28th December 2005 into Galileo's Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) at an altitude of 23,222 km by a Russian Soyuz launcher with a Fregat upper stage. Following a week long platform commissioning on the 12th January 2006, the first Galileo navigation signals were broadcast from Giove-A to Earth. The signals were monitored using RAL's 25 metre dish at Chilbolton, Hampshire, UK and also tracked by a Septentrio Galileo receiver installed at SSTL's control centre in Guildford, Surrey, UK. Thus, the first step towards the securing of Galileo's frequencies for Europe was taken. A range of signals and transmission combinations continued to be broadcast by Giove-A to complete the formal ITU filing process. The success of Giove-A heralds the arrival of Europe's Galileo system -Europe's contribution to the future Global Navigation Satellite System. The paper will describe in details the satellite design, highlight the manufacturing and qualification aspects.