PROBA V

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PROBA V is classified as:

Earth resources

NORAD ID: 39159

Int'l Code: 2013-021A

Perigee: 816.9 km

Apogee: 824.6 km

Inclination: 98.3 °

Period: 101.2 minutes

Semi major axis: 7191 km

RCS: 0.4928 m² (medium)

Launch date: May 7, 2013
Source: European Space Agency (ESA)
Launch site: FRENCH GUIANA (FRGUI)

PROBA-V spacecraft is about the size of a kitchen oven, but engineers stuffed the satellite with five technology payloads and a miniaturized vegetation instrument to supply researchers with information on plant growth. Proba-V's main sensor, designed with eyes to see in visible and infrared light, comprises an array of three telescopes and detectors. Although smaller than the preceding instruments on the Spot satellites, Proba-V's camera is more than twice as sensitive, with a peak resolution of 100 meters, or about 328 feet. Each scan from the satellite's instrument covers a swath of Earth about 1,400 miles (2,253 km) wide, giving context to scientists studying crop yields, wildfires and water shortages. The spacecraft flies in an orbit allowing it cover the whole planet in two days. The [US]$65 million mission is led by Belgium, which provided most of the project's funding, built the spacecraft and vegetation instrument, and is home to the mission control center in Redu.