ESA TV News and Footage–13/06/01
The next ESA TV tranmission will take place on:
Wednesday 13 June
11:00-12:00 GMT
The transmission will comprise of an ESA TV News item on Mars and also an ESA TV Footage playout.
Please note the satellite parameters below.
ESA TV NEWS:
Mars Express VNR
11:00-11:15 GMT
Mars will really dazzle tomorrow as it will pass closer to the Earth than at any time since 1988. The planet is at opposition on June 13, when it rises at sunset and remains visible all night. Since it’s also closest to Earth around opposition, the planet will appear exceptionally bright, outshining everything else in the night sky except the Moon and the planets Venus and Jupiter. Its reddish color will be most prominent then, too. After opposition, Mars will slowly fade for the rest of the year.
This programme provides information about Mars Express, ESA’s future mission to the red planet which will be launched in 2003 to coincide with the next time Mars is in oposition and will be even closer to the Earth. It will be launched before the planet’s closest approach, and will head for the position in space where Mars will be the following December. By having the closest approach occur while Mars Express is on its journey, the spacecraft will take the shortest possible route.
ESA TV FOOTAGE:
On 12 July, 2001, ESA’s next-generation telecommunications satellite, Artenis (Advanced Relay and Technology Satellite) will be launched on Ariane 5.
The ESA TV Service has produced a series of three pre-event Exchange Programmes with background footage on this satellite.
1) Artemis Story 1 – next generation of telecommunications (13 minutes)
11:00-11:15 GMT
The first programme puts Artemis into the historic context of the development of satellite telecommunications since the launch of Sputnik in 1957, and into that of ESA’s space application activities. Soundbites by Pietro Lo Galbo, Head of ESA’s Telecommunications Department, outline the progress made in satellite communications and ESA’s role in this segment dominated by commercial operators.
2) Artemis Story II – novel telecommunications (13 minutes)
11:30-11:45 GMT
The second programme provides information on what makes Artemis an advanced telecommunications satellite. Artemis will the first satellite of its kind to combine 3 different payloads:
* Mobile communications
* Satellite Navigation
* Direct satellite to satellite communications
This programme focuses on how, by using these different payloads, Artemis will play a major role in natural disaster management and also as an in orbit data relay system between the International Space Station and Europe.
3) Artemis Story III – leading edge technology in Europe (13 minutes)
11:45-12:00 GMT
This is the third programme in the series and concentrates on the three differenct payloads which are designed for three specific functions:
* Voice and data communications between mobile terminals- mainly for cars, trucks, trains of boats.
* Broadcasting accurate navigation information as an element of Europe’s EGNOS.
* Sending high data communications directly between satellites.
Artemis boasts many innovative technological features, not least of which are its ion thrusters. These will enable the spacecraft to maintain an orbital position without carrying large masses of chemical propellant.
Satellite Parameters:
Eutelsat W1, 10 degrees East
Transponder B5, channel 2 (digital, horizontal)
F=11.14375 MHz, SR=5.632 MS/sec, FEC=3/4
MPEG-2 (4:2:0)
MCR: Tel +31 71 565 6322, Fax +31 71 565 6340
PID-codes (Hex): audio 24, video 21, text 0, PCR 21
For further information and a daily update of the transmission schedule, visit our website at http://television.esa.int. For all enquires, contact Claus Habfast, Tel +31 71 565 3838, Fax +31 71 565 6340, e-mail chabfast@hq.esa.fr.
