Rosetta on course for final descent

After 8 billion kilometers of travel, the European space Agency ESA has decided to conduct a controlled descent of Rosetta on the comet at approx. 12:40 PM CEST on Friday this week. At present, the comet is situated somewhere between Mars and Jupiter in a distance of 713.6 million kilometers from Earth and 569.2 million kilometers from the Sun.

Rosetta will descent on comet 67P on Friday, 30 September 2016

During the period 1998-2001, Terma developed the central power supply, an 8 kilo “shoe box size” Power Conditioning Unit (PCU) to supply all on-board instruments with power. The PCU comprises a unique developed technology named Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT). With the three batteries and the 65 m2 solar arrays, this technology will maintain a constant power supply for the scientific and other instruments on board the satellite.

Besides the advanced PCU, Terma also supplied the checkout system for Rosetta. The system was used for a complete functionality test of the satellite prior to launch. Further, Terma has supplied the software validation facility which was used prior to launch for an independent test of the software in Rosetta’s critical sub-systems.

The power technology developed for Rosetta secured Terma a position as a recognized supplier of advanced power systems for deep space missions. Based on the Rosetta PCU technology and techniques, Terma has developed and supplied PCUs for the ESA Mars Express and Venus Express missions, Gallileo IOV, BepiColombo, SARah, and EU:Cropis missions.

Rosetta has orbited the comet 67P since August 2014. During this period, it has conducted numerous scientific measurements and observations which are invaluable to the scientific communities in search of new knowledge about the formation and evolution of the solar system and which will examine the role of comets in providing the Earth with water and perhaps even with the seeds of life. In November 2014, the probe Philae landed on the comet and collected and transmitted data for about 60 hours back to Earth via Rosetta.

Follow Rosetta’s grand finale.

Friday late afternoon, Terma Senior Engineer Hans Jensen will participate in a Rosetta event at the Tycho Brahe Planetarium in Copenhagen. Via a remote connection, he will give a brief presentation on Terma’s contribution to the Rosetta mission.