The Euclid mission, part of ESA's Cosmic Vision program, aims to use a space telescope to explore the origin of the universe and to investigate dark energy and dark matter, by accurately measuring the acceleration of the universe. To achieve this, the Korsch-type telescope will measure the shapes of galaxies at varying distances from Earth and investigate the relationship between distance and redshift.
Avoidance of even the tiniest amount of sunlight in the telescope is crucial for the mission to perform. With the satellite being in direct sunlight, this is no easy task. It is achieved by the sunshield subsystem, providing outstanding protection from sunlight of a sophisticated shield geometry and baffle design while at the same time, providing power to the satellite. SpaceTech signs responsible for the sunshield subsystem with Beyond Gravity, Selex Galileo, HPS Portugal and Kampf Telescope Optics as subcontractors.
Euclid is scheduled for launch on Saturday, July 1, 2023, 17:11 CEST on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral in Florida, USA.
The launch can be followed in livestream on the following channels:
https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/ESA_Web_TV
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2OJ6lCFS29Y
We are looking forward to see yet another STI subsystem in orbit, this time at Lagrange Point L2.
Godspeed Falcon 9!
