Farnborough-based QinetiQ (www.qinetiq.com) has been awarded a contract worth 16 million euros over three years to develop, build and test the on-board computers for the European Space Agency’s Proba-3 satellite mission.

Proba-3 consists of two small satellites — weighing 250kg and 200kg — that will constitute a ‘virtual’ fixed structure in space thanks to precise formation flying.

They will be mounted one on top of the other for the launch and will undergo extensive testing in Earth orbit before separating. They will then stay about 150m apart during their formation-flying manoeuvres.

During the two-year mission, Proba-3 will study the Sun’s corona using an ‘eclipsing’ mechanism, achieved by fixing a camera to one satellite and a sun-occulting disk to the other.

The disk will shield the camera from the Sun at all times, creating conditions that are usually only observable during a solar eclipse. A QinetiQ spokesman said that scientists want to learn more about the corona because it can affect the Earth by emitting blasts of magnetic energy that can affect communications equipment.

Davy Vrancken, QinetiQ’s space business development manager, said: “Through our work on the previous Proba missions and other similar projects, we have established an enviable track record in delivering control systems for small satellites.

“This expertise and our proven methodology mean that we can deliver cutting-edge technology within shorter time-scales and at a lower cost to the customer. The mission demonstrates the importance of formation fly-
ing for the future of scientific research. Because the two small satellites can operate as a single larger entity, Proba-3 opens up exciting new prospects.”