Sentinel-3A in Orbit
On February 16, 2016, a Rockot launcher lifted off from the Russian space center in Plesetsk, carrying the Sentinel-3A earth-observing satellite into orbit at an altitude of 800 km. The tasks of the satellite, developed under the leadership of Thales Alenia Space, include measuring the temperature and topography of the ocean surface. Sentinel-3A is one of a series of satellites that will be launched into space until around 2020 for the European environment monitoring program, Copernicus. Copernicus transmits valuable environment measurement data to various private and public institutions.
Code Generation with dSPACE TargetLink
To ensure that Sentinel-3A works reliably for years, it needs powerful software that monitors and controls all onboard systems, especially the position and orbit control systems. The code generator dSPACE TargetLink played a particularly important role in the development of the satellite software. TargetLink paved the way for a very effective workflow, for example, by clearly separating responsibilities, providing a clear flow of information, and making all work steps traceable.
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