COMOTI Research Institute contributes Mechanical Ground Support Equipment to ESA's Proba-3 mission

The Romanian Research & Development Institute for Gas Turbines COMOTI designed and delivered ground handling equipment for two satellites as part of the European Space Agency's (ESA) Proba-3 mission, informs the National Research Authority.

"COMOTI - Romanian Research & Development Institute for Gas Turbines, coordinated by ANC, played an essential technical role in one of the most advanced European space missions: #Proba 3, a project of the European Space Agency. For the first time, spectacular images of the solar corona were published without the need for a natural eclipse, thanks to an autonomous flight in formation between two satellites positioned more than 150 metres apart, with millimetre precision. COMOTI designed and delivered the entire family of ground handling equipment - #MGSE (Mechanical Ground Support Equipment) - for both satellites: the Coronagraph and the Occulter," says the source.

Among the equipment manufactured by COMOTI is the special container that ensured the safe transport of the ASPIICS (Association of Spacecraft for Polarimetry and Imaging Investigation of the Corona of the Sun) scientific instrument, which made observations of the Sun.

"The correct handling of extremely sensitive optical equipment is not a minor detail. It is a critical link in the success of a space mission of this calibre, a demonstration of engineering precision, responsibility and excellence in applied research. Romania not only participates in European space missions, but also counts where technology must be flawless," says the cited source.