As preparations for the launch of SMOS and Proba-2 continue on
schedule, the engineers and technicians at the Russian launch
site say goodbye as both satellites are encapsulated within the
half-shells of the Rockot fairing. Volker Liebig, ESA's Director
of Earth Observation Programmes, said, "Today, with the
encapsulation of the SMOS satellite in the launcher fairing, we
have made an important step towards the launch of this key
environmental mission, which will investigate two parameters of
the complex climate system. I am looking forward to the launch
in a few days!" The small Proba-2 satellite had already been
mated to the Breeze-KM, which is the upper stage of the Russian
Rockot, and sealed from view by the SMOS launch adapter above.
In launch configuration, Proba-2 sits underneath the SMOS
satellite, for injection into orbit after SMOS. Proba-2 is the
second in ESA's Project for Onboard Autonomy series. Although it
is less than a cubic metre, incorporates a total of 17
technology developments and four sc