The Swedish Space Corporation has signed a contract with the Russian space company Kosmotras regarding launch of the Prisma satellites. The satellites will be launched onboard a Dnepr launcher in June 2009, either from Baikonur in Kazakhstan or from Yasni in southern Russia. The French climate research satellite Picard will probably be launched on the same launcher.
The Swedish-lead Prisma project comprises two satellites which will demonstrate new technologies for formation flying and rendezvous, i.e. close encounters and interaction between space vehicles. Such technologies will be useful in future scientific space projects as they enable large telescopes or antennas to be built up by smaller components in space. This makes great demands on precision, sophisticated sensor technology and advanced systems for measurements, navigation and control.
The technologies in Prisma are mainly developed in Sweden, with contributions from Germany, Denmark and France. The Swedish Space Corporation (SSC) is the prime contractor and responsible for project management, satellite design and most of the development, integration and test activities. Once in orbit, the satellites will be controlled from SSC’s facility Esrange Space Center in northern Sweden.
“We are very satisfied with this contract, which now gives us a fixed date to work towards”, says Staffan Persson, project manager for Prisma. “At present, all satellite systems are being integrated and tested in SSC’s clean room in Solna. This is an intense phase of the project.”
Two systems developed by SSC subsidiaries will make their first space flights on Prisma. One is a non-hazardous and environmentally benign propulsion system from ECAPS, and the other is a micro-propulsion system from NanoSpace, giving extremely small thrusts and thus enabling very precise attitude control.
The project is mainly financed by the Swedish National Space Board, with contributions from the space agencies of Germany and France.
Read more about Prisma on www.prismasatellites.se Read more about the Swedish Space Corporation on www.ssc.se
For more information, please contact project manager Staffan Persson, SSC, tel +46 70 406 66 61.
Swedish Space Corporation – a general contractor in space and aerospace Swedish Space designs, tests, launches and operates space and aerospace systems. Our operations are carried out within four business units located in Stockholm, Kiruna and Vidsel. At our facility in Stockholm, we develop satellites, space vehicle subsystems and payloads for sounding rockets as well as airborne systems for maritime surveillance. We also own Stockholm Teleport, a ground station for satellite communication services. At Esrange Space Center, east of Kiruna, we launch sounding rockets and balloons and from here we also operate one of the world’s busiest civilian satellite ground stations. In addition we are involved in testing various air and space vehicles through the North European Aerospace Test range – NEAT – at Vidsel Test Range, RFN.
Swedish Space owns the German company LSE, which provides engineering and satellite operation services, the Swedish companies ECAPS, which develops and manufactures “green” propulsion systems and NanoSpace, which develops micromechanical systems for space applications. Swedish Space is also a part-owner of SES SIRIUS, which distributes television and offers other telecommunication services on its SIRIUS satellites.
