GOCE delivering data for best gravity map ever (w/ Video)

(PhysOrg.com) -- Following the launch and in-orbit testing of the most sophisticated gravity mission ever built, ESA’s GOCE satellite is now in ‘measurement mode’, mapping tiny variations in Earth’s gravity in unprecedented ...

GOCE satellite achieves drag-free perfection (w/Videos)

(PhysOrg.com) -- ESA's gravity mission GOCE has achieved a first in the history of satellite technology. The sophisticated electric propulsion system has shown that it is able to keep the satellite completely free from drag ...

GOCE's 'heart' starts beating

GOCE's highly sensitive gradiometer instrument has been switched on and is producing data. Forming the heart of GOCE, the gradiometer is specifically designed to measure Earth's gravity field with unprecedented accuracy.

GOCE's electric ion propulsion engine switched on

(PhysOrg.com) -- GOCE's sophisticated electric ion propulsion system has been switched on and confirmed to be operating normally, marking another crucial milestone in the satellite's post-launch commissioning phase.

GOCE successfully completes early orbit phase

ESA's GOCE satellite was formally declared ready for work at 01:00 CET on 20 March. During the critical Launch and Early Orbit Phase beginning with separation from its booster on 17 March, GOCE was checked out to confirm ...

GOCE satellite: Critical operations ongoing

(PhysOrg.com) -- After liftoff 17 March, ESA's GOCE spacecraft is performing very well, having achieved an extremely accurate injection altitude of 283.5 km, just 1.5 km lower than planned. The Mission Control Team is now ...

Earth Explorer mission GOCE launches

This afternoon, the Gravity field and steady-state Ocean Circulation Explorer (GOCE) satellite developed by the European Space Agency (ESA) was lofted into a near-Sun-synchronous, low Earth orbit by a Rockot launcher lifting ...

Launch of European gravity probe delayed

The launch of a pioneering European satellite designed to map Earth's gravity field was delayed due to technical problems and will take place Tuesday, Russia's Khrunichev Space Centre said.

GOCE gravity satellite moves to launch pad

(PhysOrg.com) -- With liftoff just five days away, ESA's GOCE spacecraft - encased in the protective half-shells of the launcher fairing - has been transported from the cleanroom and installed in the launch tower at the Plesetsk ...

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