(PhysOrg.com) -- After just two years in orbit, ESA's GOCE satellite has gathered enough data to map Earth's gravity with unrivalled precision. Scientists now have access to the most accurate model of the 'geoid' ever produced ...
Earth Sciences
Apr 1, 2011
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(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 ...
Space Exploration
May 26, 2009
11
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A satellite monitoring Earth's gravity field since 2009 will run out of fuel "in the coming days" and eventually crash, with little risk to humans, the European Space Agency said Friday.
Space Exploration
Oct 18, 2013
15
0
(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 ...
Space Exploration
Sep 30, 2009
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0
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.
Space Exploration
Apr 8, 2009
0
0
(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.
Space Exploration
Apr 6, 2009
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0
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 ...
Space Exploration
Mar 17, 2009
0
0
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.
Space Exploration
Mar 16, 2009
0
0
(PhysOrg.com) -- ESA is about to launch the most sophisticated of Earth Observation satellites to investigate the Earth’s gravitational field with unprecedented resolution and accuracy.
Space Exploration
Mar 9, 2009
0
0
Ten years ago, ESA launched one of its most innovative satellites. GOCE spent four years measuring a fundamental force of nature: gravity. This extraordinary mission not only yielded new insights into our gravity field, but ...
Space Exploration
Mar 20, 2019
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The Gravity Field and Steady-State Ocean Circulation Explorer (GOCE) is an ESA satellite that was launched on March 17, 2009. It is a satellite carrying a highly sensitive gravity gradiometer which detects fine density differences in the crust and oceans of the Earth.
GOCE data will have many uses, probing hazardous volcanic regions and bringing new insight into ocean behaviour. The latter, in particular, is a major driver for the mission. By combining the gravity data with information about sea surface height gathered by other satellite altimeters, scientists will be able to track the direction and speed of geostrophic ocean currents. The low orbit and high accuracy of the system will greatly improve the known accuracy and spatial resolution of the geoid (the theoretical surface of equal gravitational potential on the Earth).
The satellite's arrow shape and fins help keep the GOCE stable as it flies through the wisps of air still present at an altitude of 260 km. In addition, an ion propulsion system will continuously compensate for the deceleration of air-drag without the vibration of a conventional chemically-powered rocket engine, thus restoring the path of the craft as closely as possible to a purely inertial trajectory. The craft's primary instrument is three pairs of highly sensitive accelerometers which will measure gravitational gradients in three different axes.
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