Institution carried out tracking of the ARIANE VA-258 rocket, launched from the Guyanese Space Center (CSG), located in Kourou, French Guiana
Major Oliveira Lima
On the date that Brazil’s Independence Bicentennial was celebrated, the Department of Aerospace Science and Technology (DCTA), through the Barrier of Hell Launching Center (CLBI), tracked the ARIANE VA-258 rocket, launched from the Guyanese Space Center (CSG), located in Kourou, French Guiana.
The vehicle was launched at 18h45min (Brasília time), and after seven minutes of flight the CLBI Team took over the tracking in its coverage area, ensuring the safety of VA-258’s movement to geostationary orbit and accomplishing once again its mission. Telemetry data were collected starting at 18:52, which were sent during six minutes, in real time, to the Mission Control Center at the CSG, under the responsibility of the European Space Agency.
In this launch, the European vehicle carried as payload the Eutelsat Konnect VHTS satellite – the largest satellite built by Thales Alenia Space – equipped with the most powerful digital processor ever put into orbit. With a useful life of 15 years and a capacity of 500Gbps, in K Band, the satellite will have applications in telecommunications, providing high-speed Internet access to regions in Europe, Africa and the Middle East.
The CLBI Director, Aviator Colonel Erivando Pereira Souza, accompanied by the President of the Brazilian Space Agency, Carlos Moura; the Commander of the Seventh Motorized Infantry Brigade, Brigadier General Rocha Lima; the Port Captain of Rio Grande do Norte, Frigate Captain Mota; and other guests, watched the Operation directly from the Telemetry Station, where the partners and collaborators had the opportunity to know an activity of the space area developed in the Center since 1979, when the first CLBI Agreement with the CSG was signed.
“The tracking activity performed in the state of the art by CLBI-DCTA is the result of years of experience and is aligned with the Directives of the Commander of the Air Force and the Director General of DCTA, in order to increase space activity, seeking sovereignty, in the form of Science, Technology and Innovation. This expertise acquired by military and civilian personnel, allied to the ongoing implementations in the launch activity, will be crucial for autonomous space operations in the Brazilian Air Force, in a not so distant future,” pointed out Colonel Erivando.
Photos: CLBI *** Translated by the DEFCONPress FYI team ***