In orbit, the same side of the GOCE satellite remains facing the Sun. The spacecraft is equipped with four body-mounted and two wing-mounted solar panels. Due to the configuration in orbit, the solar panels will experience extreme temperature variations so it has been necessary to use materials that will tolerate temperatures as high as 160ºC and as low as -170ºC. (Credit: ESA - AOES Medialab)From The BBC:
Europe is set to launch one of its most challenging space missions to date.
The Goce satellite will map minute variations in the pull of gravity experienced across the planet.
Scientists will use its data to improve their understanding of how the oceans move, and to frame a universal system to measure height anywhere on Earth.
The super-sleek spacecraft will go into orbit on a modified intercontinental ballistic missile from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in north-west Russia.
Lift-off for the Rockot vehicle is timed for 1421 GMT on Monday.
Most satellites launched into space are ugly boxes. The European Space Agency's (Esa) Goce satellite is very different.
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