Aircraft

Bench tests begin next month on engineering models of two microsatellites being developed for the €23 million ($29 million) European automated in-orbit formation flying and docking experiment Prisma.

The 140kg (310lb) spacecraft Main and 40kg satellite Target could be launched in June or July 2008 on a Ukrainian Dnepr rocket into a sun-synchronous 600km (370 mile) orbit for an eight-month demonstration of rendezvous capabilities.

“The Main spacecraft will manoeuvre while the role of the Target is just what is in its name,” says Swedish Space Corporation (SSC), the prime contractor for the Prisma project initiated by the Swedish National Space Board.

The €23 million price tag excludes equipment supplied by other countries.