PROBA V [ESA]
Official name PROBA V
Alternative name Proba-V
Cospar ID 2013-021A
Norad ID 39159
Launch date 2013-05-07
Launch site FRGUI
Launch vehicle Vega
Country/Organization Europe
Type application Technology
Operator ESA
RCS size MEDIUM
Decay date ON ORBIT
Period (min) 101.18
Inclination (deg) 98.31
Perigee (km) 812
Apogee (km) 817
Eccentricity 0.00306936771025169
Mean motion (revs. per day) 14.2320616722672
Semi-Major axis (km) 7192.635
Raan (deg) 140.1486
Arg of perigee (deg) 206.1089
Shape Box
Mass (kg) 138
Height (m) 0.8
Width (m) 0.8
Depth (m) 0.8
Span (m^2) 0.8
Lifetime 2.5 years (min), 5 years (design)
Contractors Qinetiq Space Belgium (prime); OIP Space Systems (payload)
Equipment VGT, ADS-B payload
Power Solar cells, batteries

PROBA-V (Project for On-Board Autonomy - Vegetation) is an attempt, spearheaded by ESA and CNES, to accommodate an improved smaller version of the large VGT (Vegetation) optical instrument of SPOT-4 and SPOT-5 mission heritage on a small satellite bus.

Proba-V flies a reduced-mass version of the Vegetation instrument currently on board the Spot satellites to provide a daily overview of global vegetation growth.

Bearing a different designation from its predecessors, Proba-V is an operational as well as experimental mission, designed to serve an existing user community. The aim is to guarantee data continuity for the Vegetation dataset once the current Spot missions end.

Additionaly, PROBA-V carries an ADS-B (Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast) receiver system as a hosted payload to investigate if it is technically feasible to receive in orbit ADS-B signals from aircrafts.

PROBA-V was constructed to be compatible with the Vega, Soyuz and Falcon-1e launch vehicles. It was selected as the primary payload for the second test flight of the Vega launch vehicle.

Beginning in 2023, it will be used in conjunction with the PROBA V-CC (PVCC) satellite.

Satellite COSPAR Date LS Launch Vehicle Remarks
PROBA V 2013-021A 2013-05-07 FRGUI Vega with VNREDSat 1a, ESTCube 1