Our column "Space" nearly launched into space

We arrived accompanied by stormy winds to one of the largest sci-tech citadels of Europe, the research centre of the European Space Agency (ESA) near Amsterdam. Here the satellites are tested before launching on shaker pads and in vacuum-chambers simulating the harsh conditions of space. We could enter the model of the European module of the International Space Station (ISS) and watched a "space exhibition" as well. See our picture report.

"We greet Akos Kereszturi, Andras Sik and Tamas Simon on board". Suddenly we looked up to this announcement on the flight Budapest-Eindhoven of Wizzair where we were seated in the distinguished "first row" where also taller people don't have to sit with sprawled legs. After taking off we were favoured with a tea too so we seemed to be VIP-passengers. Besides communication satellites, GPS, Velcro and thousands of useful things this is also due to space research since my dear former student from the "Supernova" astronomy group of the Alternative Secondary School of Economics works at the mentioned airline.

This is not Florida - the first impressions

Our journey also was linked with space research: from Eindhoven we headed for the technological centre of ESA, ESTEC (European Space Research and Technology Centre). My companions were Akos Kereszturi, leader of our column "Space" and Andras Sik, academic of ELTE (Eotvos Lorand University of Sciences), both young space researchers and scientific lecturers. They already have been at the sunny NASA centres in California and Florida but the city Noordwijk on the beaches of the stormy North Sea was all but the same. Standing beside the foaming sea with rain slapping our faces, it became clear why the ancient Romans considered this region as the end of the known world. It came in our minds also that this kind of weather which occurs here frequently doesn't raise the spirits of the European space researchers too much.

Behind the line of sand dunes...

...The furious North Sea

After a few minutes of car-ride from our lodging we arrived to ESTEC where almost 3000 specialists work developing, assembling and testing the space devices of our continent. ESA has 5 European centres from which ESTEC is the largest, it is the technological heart piece of ESA.

ESTEC (European Space Research and Technology Centre) lies on nearly 100 acres near Noordwijk, Holland (Photo: ESA)

We entered ESTEC: Andras Sik on the left and Akos Kereszturi on the right

The Dutch ride their bikes even in rain, we saw mainly young researchers arriving this way

The descendant of ancient colonnades the so called "Dry Run" is far from compelling like they but are really useful. Through them you can swiftly pass between two buildings without being wet. It can be observed that the plastic boards are shielding the main wind direction, blowing from the sea. They pay attention to the protection of the nature: on the boards the silhouettes of birds of prey protecting the smaller birds from crashing into the transparent plexiglass

At the reception desk of the main building we were welcomed by great names
Nearly in space

Our first way led us to the ESTEC Test Centre, a building complex visible on the upper left side of picture No. 3. Satellites are expensive and they mostly can not be repaired after launch. Therefore before launching here on Earth such conditions are to be generated which the spacecraft meets during launch and in space in order to determine if it endures the hardships. Of course all the conditions of the outer space can not be simulated here on Earth but some phases can partly be examined. There are only four test centres in Europe dealing with this because the tests need high-tech. Between them the largest is the test centre of ESTEC where numerous elements of launching and functioning in space can be examined.

Electro-magnetic shaker pad. The satellites are placed on it to simulate the vibration during launch

One of the most interesting equipments, the Large Space Simulator, (LSS). It is a system of chambers 15 meters high and 10 meters of diameter where space conditions can be produced: nearly perfect vacuum, approx. minus 180 degrees Celsius of temperature and a 2700 watt per square meter lighting system simulating the sun

We will give a report about the details of the satellite testing in a separate compilation but now let's continue our walk in ESTEC. Near an elevator we gazed at a still used pneumatic mail-tube constructed before the era of the internet.

A message delivery system from the past. According to our local attendant nowadays only coffee should be forwarded with it

Our next experience was making acquaintance with a real 21st century solution: we saw the process-planning system of ESA at the section named Concurrent Design Facility. While we were there the work did not stop. At least 20 people sat in an interleaved double horseshoe-like facility: in the inner one the customers, in the outer experts of the several areas (we were not allowed to take photos, on the one below some of the communication devices supporting the system are visible). The essence of the method is that the experts in the outer circle react one after the other (some via webcam) to the needs of the customers so the planning of the project is continuously running to which all information and knowledge is immediately at hand. This method (which is applied by NASA as well) reduced in the recent years the time of project-planning by 75%, and the costs by 50%. In addition a knowledge base developed which can be easily adapted to the demands of other specific programs.

The modern and effective process-planning is part of the daily routine at ESA as well

With another Dry Run we dashed along the building of the Galileo program. It is running at ESTEC under security measurements which are more rigorous than the ordinary ones. The 3rd satellite of the system will be tested at the end of October with excluding the public and even on the visitor gallery of the test centre the shutters will be pulled down. The Galileo system will be the "European GPS"

From this building the development of Europe's own global positioning system, the Galileo is managed

After a further Dry Run came the Erasmus Building where we could have a close-up look at the original-sized models of space devices made for simulations on Earth. In the centre was the International Space Station where we could start with our work.

Europe' greatest contribution to the ISS: the European research-module Columbus; 6,8 meters long, diameter: 4,5 metres, volume: 75 cubic metres (details in our earlier article). This is an original sized model with the same structure as the real one

Compartments inside the Columbus where the tools of the current experiments are stored

Astronauts in jackets: Akos Kereszturi and Andras Sik imitating hovering not too successful

The author has also completed a dangerous biological experiment

The miniaturized complett model of the ISS is hanging from the ceiling...

...beneath it the real size model of the Russian living module Zvezda...

It would be fine to join Europe in space also

The profile of ESA covers all areas of space-activities: monitoring the Earth, manned space flights, research of the Solar System and development of navigation and telecommunication satellites together with carrier vessels. In 2009 ESA had a budget of 3600 million €. They have built and planned more than 60 satellites so far and at present more than 10 scientific missions are running. The activities of ESA are one of the main driving forces of technological development of the European Union. We chose 3 from the numerous programs and spent the next few hours with some researchers of ESA.

Giuliano Gatti, staff member of the Galileo-program described the European positioning system. You will read also a more detailed account about the situation and aims of the program in our column

One of the most exciting programs of ESA is the Rosetta mission, which aims the detailed observation of the "awakening" of the comet Churyumov-Gerasimenko nearing the Sun - the tiny celestial body which is like a dirty snowball, will be more and more active as it reaches the inner and warmer area of our Solar System. The temporarily developing gas-shell surrounding the core of the comet will be examined by an orbiting device and the surface which will be increasingly dangerous like in the movie Armageddon is observed with a landing module constructed partly with Hungarian contribution. If this all succeeds we can obtain important new knowledge about the composition of the prehistoric solar nebula which remained unchanged in the core of the comets since the formation of the Solar System and it will be also an outstanding success for the European space research.

Rita Schultz, project scientist of the Rosetta program told us: the Rosetta will - according to the present plans - start to orbit around the core of the comet Churyumov-Gerasimenko in May 2014 and a few months later the Hungarian-contributed Philae lander will separate itself from the satellite to descend on the surface of the tiny celestial body. She promised that they would not miss the target

Olivier Witasse, researcher of Mars Express showed us some very detailed but unpublished photos about the European Mars orbiter and spoke about the European Mars-research plans of the future

We closed our program with a "space-exhibition", the Space Expo. This is a spectacular exhibition set up in a separate building and visitable by everybody.

In front of the entrance we are received by the biggest, bus-sized satellite of ESA, the model of ENVISAT launched to observe the Earth

Inside the building everywhere the models of satellites are suspended but at the end I choose two real objects: this is a heat shield tile from an American Space Shuttle...

..... and this is the mark of a micrometeorite which crashed into the solar panel from one of the replaced ones of the Hubble Space Telescope nowadays operated mutually by NASA and ESA

Finally: the Hungarian flag is missing on the photo above. We are not between the fully authorised members of ESA because we can not remit the membership fee of approx. 5 million € per year. However this sum can be back-applicated and as fully authorised members we could join more S&D programs. ESA is for Hungary also the future of space activities which is an important leading sector of every country's economy.