LISA Pathfinder Blazes A Trail En Route To L1 | Aero-News Network
Aero-News Network
RSS icon RSS feed
podcast icon MP3 podcast
Subscribe Aero-News e-mail Newsletter Subscribe

Airborne Unlimited -- Most Recent Daily Episodes

Episode Date

Airborne-Monday

Airborne-Tuesday

Airborne-Wednesday Airborne-Thursday

Airborne-Friday

Airborne On YouTube

Airborne-Unlimited-07.07.25

Airborne-NextGen-07.08.25

AirborneUnlimited-07.09.25

Airborne-FlightTraining-07.10.25

AirborneUnlimited-07.11.25

Fri, Dec 04, 2015

LISA Pathfinder Blazes A Trail En Route To L1

Successful Launch Thursday Boosted Instrument Into Orbit

LISA Pathfinder, a European Space Agency (ESA) science spacecraft, designed and built by Airbus Defense and Space, has been successfully placed into orbit from the Kourou European spaceport in French Guiana. The Vega launcher, operated by Arianespace, flawlessly lifted-off on 03 December at 04:04 GMT and released LISA Pathfinder, 105 minutes later. Spacecraft controllers in the European Space Operations Center have received LISA Pathfinder’s first signals.

LISA Pathfinder will spend two weeks raising its orbit using a dedicated propulsion module, also built by Airbus Defense and Space, through six separate engine firings. After the final escape burn is performed and the health of the spacecraft module is confirmed, the propulsion module will be jettisoned, approximately 51 days after launch.
 
The spacecraft will continue on its journey to the first Lagrange point (L1) at 1.5 million km (approx 930,000 miles) from Earth. Its operational orbit is a 500,000km x 800,000km (approx 310,000 x 500,000 mile) Lissajous orbit around the L1 point. During the drift phase, the platform and the two spacecraft propulsion systems (Cold Gas and the NASA Colloidal micronewton thrusters) will be tested and verified.
 
24 days after the separation, the mission will begin with three weeks commissioning of the science payload including tests such as the release and capture of the test masses, and verification of the Drag Free and Attitude and Control System (DFACS). This will be followed by the six-month long main mission.
 
LISA Pathfinder is paving the way for a future large space observatory that ultimately will directly observe and precisely measure gravitational waves. ESA selected the gravitational universe science theme for its third Large Class L3 mission, for which a LISA-like mission is a leading candidate. Gravitational waves will allow astronomers to study our universe in a new way, and future telescope systems will be able to observe exotic sources, such as colliding super-massive black holes, as never before.

Airbus Defense and Space in the UK was chosen by the European Space Agency (ESA) to build the spacecraft and propulsion module and is responsible for delivering the integrated satellite. Airbus Defense and Space in Germany was chosen by ESA and the German Aerospace Center, DLR, to be the systems leader for the LTP, which was developed with contributions from European research institutes and companies.

(Source: Airbus news release. Images from file)

FMI: www.airbus.com

Advertisement

More News

Classic Aero-TV: Up Close And Personal - The Aeroshell Aerobatic Team at Oshkosh

From 2014 (YouTube Version): One Of The Airshow World's Pre-Eminent Formation Teams Chats About The State Of The Industry At EAA AirVenture 2014, ANN News Editor Tom Patton gets th>[...]

ANN's Daily Aero-Term (07.13.25): Tactical Air Navigation (TACAN)

Tactical Air Navigation (TACAN) An ultra-high frequency electronic rho-theta air navigation aid which provides suitably equipped aircraft a continuous indication of bearing and dis>[...]

ANN's Daily Aero-Linx (07.13.25)

Aero Linx: Doobert Hi, we're Chris & Rachael Roy, founders and owners of Doobert. Chris is a technology guy in his “day” job and used his experience to create Doobe>[...]

NTSB Prelim: Pitts S2

The Airplane Was Spinning In A Nose-Down Attitude Before It Impacted Terrain On June 20, 2025, at 0900 eastern daylight time, a Pitts Aerobatics S-2B, N79AV, was destroyed when it >[...]

Airborne 07.09.25: B-17 Sentimental Journey, Airport Scandal, NORAD Intercepts

Also: United Elite Sues, Newark ATC Transitions, Discovery Moves?, Textron @ KOSH The Commemorative Air Force Airbase Arizona is taking its “Flying Legends of Victory Tour&rd>[...]

blog comments powered by Disqus



Advertisement

Advertisement

Podcasts

Advertisement

© 2007 - 2025 Web Development & Design by Pauli Systems, LC