ESA has put back the launch date for its Gravity field and steady-state Ocean Circulation Explorer (GOCE) satellite to 10 September after a malfunction of the upper-stage section of a Russian Proton launcher in March.
Tests have now shown that the problem doesn't affect the Rockot launcher, which will be used to launch the GOCE mission.
The GOCE spacecraft has been undergoing extensive testing at ESA's test facilities in the Netherlands, including subjecting the satellite to 1.4kW of power over each square metre of the side of the satellite that faces the Sun.
Once launched, GOCE will begin to map global variations in the Earth's gravity field. The GOCE-derived data is needed to understand more about processes occurring inside the Earth and for use in practical applications such as surveying and levelling.
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Source: Flight Daily News
