View source for PROBA-2

{{Short description|ESA low-cost satellite project}}
{{Infobox spaceflight|auto=all
| name                  = PROBA-2
| image                 = 
| image_caption         =

| mission_type          = [[Technology]]<br/>[[Space weather]]
| operator              = [[European Space Agency]]<ref name="eoportal">{{cite web |url=https://directory.eoportal.org/web/eoportal/satellite-missions/p/proba-2 |title=PROBA-2 (Project for On-Board Autonomy-2) |publisher=[[ESA]] |access-date = 2013-04-15}}</ref>
| website               = <!-- Homepage of the craft/mission -->
| COSPAR_ID             = 2009-059B
| SATCAT                = 36037
| mission_duration      = 2 years (planned)<br/> {{time interval|2 November 2009|show=ymd}} (in progress)
| spacecraft_bus        = [[PROBA]]
| manufacturer          = [[Qinetiq|Verhaert Design & Development (now QinetiQ Space)]]
| dry_mass              = 
| launch_mass           = {{convert|120|kg|lb}}
| dimensions            = 0.60m x 0.70m x 0.85m
| power                 = 120 watts

| launch_date           = {{start-date|2 November 2009, 01:50:00|timezone=yes}}&nbsp;UTC 
| launch_rocket         = [[Rokot]]/[[Briz-KM]]
| launch_site           = [[Plesetsk Cosmodrome|Plesetsk]] [[Plesetsk Cosmodrome Site 133|133/3]]
| launch_contractor     =

| disposal_type         = 
| deactivated           = 
| last_contact          = <!-- {{end-date|[insert date here]}} -->
| decay_date            = <!-- when craft re-entered the atmosphere -->

| orbit_epoch           = 24 January 2015, 13:01:08&nbsp;UTC<ref name="n2yo">{{cite web|url=http://www.n2yo.com/satellite/?s=36037|title=PROBA-2 Satellite details 2009-059B NORAD 36037|publisher=N2YO|date=24 January 2015|access-date=25 January 2015}}</ref>
| orbit_reference       = [[geocentric orbit|Geocentric]]
| orbit_regime          = [[Sun-synchronous orbit|Sun-synchronous]]
| orbit_periapsis       = {{convert|713|km|mi}}<ref name="n2yo"/>
| orbit_apoapsis        = {{convert|733|km|mi}}<ref name="n2yo"/>
| orbit_inclination     = 98.28&nbsp;degrees<ref name="n2yo"/>
| orbit_period          = 99.12&nbsp;minutes<ref name="n2yo"/>
| apsis                 = gee

| insignia              = Proba-2 insignia.png
| insignia_caption      = ESA solar system insignia for the ''PROBA-2'' mission
| insignia_alt          = ''PROBA-2'' mission logo
| insignia_size         = 180x180px
}}

'''PROBA-2''' is the second satellite in the [[European Space Agency]]'s series of [[PROBA]] low-cost [[satellite]]s that are being used to validate new spacecraft technologies while also carrying scientific instruments.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Technology/Proba_Missions/About_Proba-2 |title=About PROBA-2 |date=2012-12-02 |publisher=[[ESA]] |access-date = 2013-04-15}}</ref> PROBA-2 is a small satellite (130&nbsp;kg) developed under an ESA General Support Technology Program (GSTP) contract by a Belgian consortium led by Verhaert (now [[QinetiQ|QinetiQ Space]]) of Kruibeke, Belgium. The nominal mission duration was two years.<ref name="eoportal" /> As of 2022, 
the mission continues.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://sci.esa.int/proba2/|title = ESA Science & Technology - PROBA2}}</ref>

==Mission summary==
It was launched on 2 November 2009, with the [[Rockot]] launch system together with [[ESA]]'s [[Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity satellite|SMOS]] mission.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://news.eoportal.org/didyouknow/080923_did1.html |title=Successful launch qualification test for PROBA-2 |date=2008-09-16 |publisher=[[ESA]] |access-date=2013-04-15 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110725074327/http://news.eoportal.org/didyouknow/080923_did1.html |archive-date=2011-07-25 }}</ref> The platform was launched in a [[Sun-synchronous orbit]] [[low Earth orbit]] (altitude of 725&nbsp;km).<ref name="eoportal" />

PROBA-2 contains five scientific instruments. Two of them are designated to observe the [[Sun]]: "The Sun Watcher using APS and Image Processing" ([[SWAP (instrument)|SWAP]], an EUV imager) and the "Large Yield Radiometer" ([[LYRA]]), a radiometer made of diamond photodiodes. The Principal investigator teams of both instruments are hosted at the [[Royal Observatory of Belgium]]. This institute will also host the [http://proba2.oma.be PROBA-2 Science Center]  from which the [[SWAP (instrument)|SWAP]] and [[LYRA]] instruments will be operated and their data distributed. There are three other instruments to measure basic space plasma properties: the [[Dual segmented Langmuir probe]] (DSLP)<ref name="eoportal" /> (developed by the [[Astronomical Institute of Czech Academy of Sciences|Astronomical Institute]] and Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic), the Thermal Plasma Measurement Unit (TPMU), and the Science Grade Vector Magnetometer (SGVM) developed by the [[Technical University of Denmark]].<ref name="eoportal" />

==See also==
{{Portal|Spaceflight}}
*[[List of European Space Agency programs and missions]]
*[[PROBA-1]]
*[[PROBA-V]]
*[[PROBA-3]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://Proba2.oma.be PROBA-2 Science Center]

{{European Space Agency}}
{{Sun spacecraft}}
{{Satellite and spacecraft instruments}}
{{Orbital launches in 2009}}

[[Category:Spacecraft launched in 2009]]
[[Category:European Space Agency satellites]]
[[Category:European Space Agency]]
[[Category:Environmental science]]
[[Category:Space Situational Awareness Programme]]
[[Category:Spacecraft launched by Rokot rockets]]
[[Category:Solar space observatories]]
[[Category:Technology demonstrations]]


{{ESA-stub}}
{{Europe-spacecraft-stub}}