# Venus Express raggiunge la sua orbita finale

**URL:** <https://www.forumastronautico.it/t/venus-express-raggiunge-la-sua-orbita-finale/4327>\
**Category:** Venus Express\
**Created:** [13 Maggio 2006, 8:02pm UTC](https://www.forumastronautico.it/t/venus-express-raggiunge-la-sua-orbita-finale/4327 "2006-05-13T20:02:49Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![marcozambi](https://www.forumastronautico.it/user_avatar/www.forumastronautico.it/marcozambi/32/208660_2.png) [@marcozambi](https://www.forumastronautico.it/u/marcozambi)\
**Post date:** [13 Maggio 2006, 8:02pm UTC](https://www.forumastronautico.it/t/venus-express-raggiunge-la-sua-orbita-finale/4327/1 "2006-05-13T20:02:49Z")

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Meno di un mese dopo il suo inserimento in orbita, e dopo aver compiuto 16 giri intorno a Venere, la sonda dell’ESA Venus Express ha raggiunto la sua orbita operativa il 7 maggio 2006.

[http://www.esa.int/esaCP/SEM33O8ATME\_index\_0.html](http://www.esa.int/esaCP/SEM33O8ATME_index_0.html)

> Venus Express has reached final orbit European Space Agency 9 May 2006
> 
> Less than one month after insertion into orbit, and after sixteen loops  
> around the planet Venus, ESA’s Venus Express spacecraft has reached its  
> final operational orbit on 7 May 2006.
> 
> Already at 21:49 CEST on 6th May, when the spacecraft communicated to  
> Earth through ESA’s ground station at New Norcia (Australia), the Venus  
> Express ground control team at ESA’s European Spacecraft Operations  
> Centre (ESOC) in Darmstadt (Germany) received advanced confirmation  
> that  
> final orbit was to be successfully achieved about 18 hours later.
> 
> Launched on 9 November 2005, Venus Express arrived to destination on 11  
> April 2006, after a five-month interplanetary journey to the inner  
> solar  
> system. The initial orbit - or “capture orbit” - was an ellipse ranging  
> from 330 000 kilometres at its furthest point from Venus surface  
> (apocentre) to less than 400 kilometres at its closest (pericentre).
> 
> As of the 9-day capture orbit, Venus Express had to perform a series of  
> further manoeuvres to gradually reduce the apocentre and the pericentre  
> altitudes over the planet. This was achieved by means of the spacecraft  
> main engine - which had to be fired twice during this period (on 20 and  
> 23 April 2006) - and through the banks of Venus Express’ thrusters -  
> ignited five times (on 15, 26 and 30 April, 3 and 6 May 2006).
> 
> “Firing at apocentre allows the spacecraft to control the altitude of  
> the next pericentre, while firing at the pericentre controls the  
> altitude of the following apocentre,” says Andrea Accomazzo, Spacecraft  
> Operations Manager at ESOC. “It is through this series of operations  
> that we reached the final orbit last Sunday, about one orbital  
> revolution after the last “pericentre change manoeuvre” on Saturday 6  
> May”.
> 
> Venus Express entered its target orbit at apocentre on 7 May 2006 at  
> 15:31 (CEST), when the spacecraft was at 151 million kilometres from  
> Earth. Now the spacecraft is running on an ellipse substantially closer  
> to the planet than during the initial orbit. The orbit now ranges  
> between 66 000 and 250 kilometres over the Venus and it is polar. The  
> pericentre is located almost above the North pole (80? North  
> latitude),  
> and it takes 24 hours for the spacecraft to travel around the planet.
> 
> “This is the orbit designed to perform the best possible observations  
> of  
> Venus, given the scientific objectives of the mission. These include  
> global observations of the Venusian atmosphere, of the surface  
> characteristics and of the interaction of the planetary environment  
> with  
> the solar wind,” says H?kan Svedhem, Venus Express Project Scientist.  
> “It allows detailed high resolution observations near pericentre and  
> the  
> North Pole, and it lets us study the very little explored region around  
> the South Pole for long durations at a medium scale,” he concluded.
> 
> Until beginning of June, Venus Express will continue its “orbit  
> commissioning phase”, started on 22 April this year. “The spacecraft  
> instruments are now being switched on one by one for detailed checking,  
> which we will continue until mid May. Then we will operate them all  
> together or in groups” said Don McCoy, Venus Express Project Manager.  
> “This allows simultaneous observations of phenomena to be tested, to be  
> ready when Venus Express’ nominal science phase begins on 4 June 2006,”  
> he concluded.
> 
> For more information:
> 
> Don McCoy, ESA Venus Express Project Manager  
> Email: Don.McCoy @ esa.int
> 
> Andrea Accomazzo, ESA Venus Express Spacecraft Operations Manager  
> Email: andrea.accomazzo @ esa.int
> 
> H?kan Svedhem, ESA Venus Express Project Scientist  
> Email: Hakan.Svedhem @ esa.int

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**Author:** ![Luca](https://www.forumastronautico.it/user_avatar/www.forumastronautico.it/luca/32/45449_2.png) [@Luca](https://www.forumastronautico.it/u/Luca)\
**Post date:** [14 Maggio 2006, 1:13pm UTC](https://www.forumastronautico.it/t/venus-express-raggiunge-la-sua-orbita-finale/4327/2 "2006-05-14T13:13:16Z")

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Buon lavoro!!!