EarthCARE/CPR Project Member Blog
2024.5.30 (ESOC Field Report) MREF Deployment
Since May 30th was a national holiday, the main gate of ESOC was closed and there were very few people there.
Meanwhile, the building that houses the control room is staffed 24 hours a day by people involved in satellite operations, including AirBus.
The JAXA team that developed the CPR is preparing for the major event of deploying the main reflector, and they are watching with bated breath through the glass of the operations room.
When the deployment was confirmed from the telemetry showing the status of the satellite, the smiles and fist pumps of the JAXA staff members watching the monitor were impressive! "Congratulations!" shouted the staff from ESA and JAXA, shaking hands and hugging each other to celebrate the successful deployment of the main reflector.
Afterwards, I shook hands and hugged everyone on the operations team, and the scene I had imagined became a reality. We also received congratulations from ESA/JAXA staff who were watching warmly through the glass of the operations room. Up until that point, we had been conducting ground tests and operational training, but on that day I really realized that it had all been leading up to this moment.
The next day, a dinner was held between ESA and JAXA to commemorate the end of the critical phase, and everyone toasted to their appreciation and for the future success of EarthCARE.
