A hunt for gravitational waves in space Einstein left the mission of Lisa Pathfinder – The Messenger

From our correspondent

KOUROU (FRENCH GUYANA) The Vega launcher passes the mesosphere at times almost 30,000 kilometers with its precious cargo of science that once operational, will screen the field of space research forward years light.

This is the satellite Lisa Pathfinder, the European Space Agency (ESA), which will try to find experimental evidence of the existence of gravitational waves and to use such waves for the study of phenomena such as holes blacks and binary systems.

That match today, after a postponement of the launch of 24 hours, is one of the most important missions Vega, the sixth consecutive success of the Italian pitcher from 2012 , the third of 2015. The concentration and the tension of the technicians and engineers who drive remotely the carrier up to 207 kilometers altitude is very high.

The Vega launcher, produced 70 percent from Avio, the Italian flagship of our country, based in Colleferro, came off from the launch site at 01.04 on Thursday from the European Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana. Half an hour before the control center it has armored triggering all security doors closing in the only insiders and the lucky few allowed to attend the launch maneuvers, including fifteen journalists from all over the world.

The trail of fire of rocket propulsion of the Vega has pierced the darkness of the night lighting up almost to the day of the space port and the rainforest that surrounds it on three sides. In one hour and 45 minutes it will reach 200 kilometers above the Earth, where Lisa will release in a parking orbit ?? transitory and slightly elliptical. Hence the probe, with its engines, in two months will reach the end position at a distance from Earth of about 1.5 million kilometers in orbit around the First Lagrangian point of the Sun-Earth.

“We are all very excited – says Roberto Battiston, president of ASI (Italian Space Agency) – This is the time in which it is afloat Italy, its entire supply chain: pitcher, payload, science, technology, management capacity. In a context of ‘European Space Agency (Esa), but only in a very extraordinary Italian, demonstrating that our country, in this area, has a recognized tradition that continues to confirm, launch after launch, mission after mission. This does nothing but confirm the our country among the great even in space. “

” Lisa Pathfinder mission concludes that the program Verta developed by ESA vision. It is very important for Avio – says Giulio Ranzo, CEO Avio – This sixth consecutive fact allows us to broaden the spectrum of missions by testing the ability of our carrier to carry heavy loads, the weight limit for which it was designed. And ‘further confirmation that our product is a flexible, competitive and reliable. Today we have a wealth of experience broader course also will transfer about upcoming launches and especially so on the future Vega C “.

MISSION

 At exactly one hundred years since Albert Einstein showed, the Prussian Academy of Sciences in Berlin, the famous equation of general relativity, Lisa is specifically intended to demonstrate the accuracy of its predictions: the existence of gravitational waves and the ability to control and measure with high precision the movement of two masses in terms of free fall.

Lisa Pathfinder (formerly known as SMART-2) is a European Space Agency mission, whose launch was scheduled in 2011, then postponed to 2015. The abbreviation SMART stands for Small Missions for Advanced Research in Technology (missions reduced for technological research). His goal is to test technologies that will be the base of the joint NASA / ESA. In order to capture gravitational waves, ESA has in fact already scheduled the next mission will be called “ELISA”, namely the creation of a space laboratory consists of three satellites in orbit around the Sun, located at the corners of an equilateral triangle 5 million kilometers per side.

Within the satellites, the masses will float freely in gold and platinum, and a sophisticated laser interferometer will record the fluctuations of their relative velocity due to any action of gravitational waves. Lisa Pathfinder is but a miniature version of the arms of Elisa. Large 2.7 meters high by 2.1 in diameter, Lisa Pathfinder indeed leads inside two of the same masses that will be used in ELISA, but instead of being away from 5 million kilometers, this time they are near a bit ‘less than a meter. The mission was made an important contribution to Italian.

The inertial sensors, high precision instruments of fundamental importance to the probe, were made ?? by the Italian Space Agency with industrial prime contractor CGS (Compagnia Generale for Space) on scientific project of researchers at the University of Trento ?? led by Principal Investigator Stefano Vitale, of ?? INFN: “Listen to the Universe through gravitational waves promises a profound revolution in astronomy, astrophysics and cosmology, as those due to the invention of the telescope or radio telescope – explains Principal investigator Stefano Vitale – We will study extreme events and objects difficult to observe, such as holes blacks. It will also be possible to make the stratigraphy of the Universe up to reconstruct the origin of galaxies and blacks holes that we can observe today. In short, it will be like opening a window on the cosmos never opened before it is unimaginable what we can find out.

AVIO

 Avio is an international leader in space launchers, propulsion and space transportation. And ‘present in Italy, France and French Guyana with 5 settlements and employs over 700 people; in 2014 it had revenues of over 220 million euro.

The AVIO Group realizes the Vega launcher, in which the subsidiary ELV (30% owned by the Italian Space) is the prime contractor, and has allowed all ‘Italy to be present in the few countries in the world capable of producing a complete spacecraft. Avio will build the new launcher VEGA and C will participate in the new launcher Ariane 6 with new engines solid and liquid oxygen turbopumps Vinci and Vulcain. The new jet engine firm, now called P120C, which will power the new European launcher Ariane 6 and the new more powerful version of the space launcher VEGA will be developed and produced by Europropulsion (JV 50% Avio, 50% ASL).

For the realization of this engine and the new engine Zefiro 40 (built and tested in Italy and that will be to the second stage of the launcher VEGA), will be using a new composite carbon fiber prepreg, made directly Avio in their research laboratories of Colleferro and Campania. Avio has a long experience in the design and manufacture of solid propellant propulsion systems and liquid for space launchers and tactical propulsion for.

Avio the liquid oxygen turbopump of the Vulcain cryogenic engine and two motors lateral solid propellant for the Ariane 5, the first stage of the missile defense missile Aster 30. To date, the solid-propellant propulsion Avio has been operating successfully in all over 220 Ariane launches and those of Vega. In the field of satellites, the Avio Group has manufactured and supplied to ESA and ASI subsystems for propulsion in orbit and control of more than 30 satellites, including the most recent SICRAL and Small GEO.