GOCE, the Gravity Field and Steady-State Ocean Circulation Explorer

[Rick]

Goce gravity flight slips to 2009

Europe's gravity mission has been bumped to next year because of ongoing technical problems with its launcher.

The arrow-shaped Goce satellite will map tiny variations in the pull of gravity experienced across the world.

The information will give scientists a clearer insight into how the oceans move, and provide a universal reference to measure height anywhere on Earth.

More: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7592689.stm

[Rick]

Europe is set to launch one of its most challenging space missions to date.

The Goce satellite will map minute variations in the pull of gravity experienced across the planet.

Scientists will use its data to improve their understanding of how the oceans move, and to frame a universal system to measure height anywhere on Earth.

More: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7935621.stm

[Rick]

The launch of a European Space Agency (Esa) gravity mapping satellite, called Goce, has been delayed.

Controllers suspended the countdown when the service tower protecting its rocket failed to move clear of the launcher to allow a lift-off.

If engineers can isolate the problem, it is possible that another launch attempt can be made on Tuesday.

More: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7946480.stm

[Rick]

The launch of Europe's Gravity Field and Steady-State Ocean Circulation Explorer (Goce) satellite set for Monday will be the first large-scale effort involving the UK's new National Centre for Earth Observation (NCEO) since its official inauguration earlier this month.

The exquisite precision of Goce's measurements is just one facet of the data crucial to fulfil the NCEO's mission of harnessing space technology and expertise to better inform studies into the environment and, in particular, climate change.

The £33m, five-year collaboration was set up by the Natural Environmental Research Council (Nerc) and draws together 100 scientists from 26 UK universities.

More: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7923867.stm

[Rick]

A new European satellite which will fly aerodynamically through the extreme upper reaches of the atmosphere, using ion rocket propulsion to maintain orbital speed, has been held up on the launch pad with just seconds left on the countdown.

More: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/03/16/goce_launch_delayed/

[Rick]

The European space agency's dart-shaped GOCE satellite, designed to skim through the extreme upper atmosphere using ion drives to compensate for air drag, has launched successfully from Plesetsk cosmodrome in northern Russia.

More: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/03/17/goce_gets_up_there/

[Rick]

The European Space Agency has just launched its gravity mapping satellite, Goce - after a day's delay.

It left Earth at 1421GMT on a modified intercontinental ballistic missile from north-west Russia.

The flight will not be declared a success until Goce separates from its rocket about 90 minutes after lift-off.

More: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7945170.stm

[Rick]

 Europe's innovative Goce satellite has switched on the super-sensitive instrument that will make ultra-fine measurements of Earth's gravity.

The sophisticated gradiometer will feel the subtle variations in Earth's tug as it sweeps around the globe.

The spacecraft has also fired up the British-built engine that will help maintain its orbit.

More: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7986406.stm

[Rick]

The European Space Agency (ESA) has confirmed that both the electric ion propulsion engines aboard its Gravity Field and Steady-State Ocean Circulation Explorer (GOCE) satellite are "performing nominally".

The "cutting-edge" drives - built by Qinetiq - are designed to compensate for "the tiny amount of drag generated by the few wisps of atmosphere at GOCE's orbital height".

More: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/04/07/goce_engines/

[MarkS]

Earth's gravity pictured by the European Goce satellite:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/8767763.stm

[Rick]

European Space Agency's Goce satellite falls to Earth

The European Space Agency's (Esa) Goce satellite has re-entered the Earth's atmosphere, burning up in the process.

US tracking data suggests any surviving debris fell into the South Atlantic, just off the tip of South America, south of the Falkland Islands.

Dubbed the "Ferrari of space" because of its sleek looks, Goce is the first Esa mission to make an uncontrolled re-entry in more than 25 years.

The gravity mapping probe's plunge was inevitable once it ran out of fuel.

More: "#GOCE #satellite falls from #space"