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December 7, 2004
Elektrobit Group supplied the mission with radar altimeters, which will measure the altitude of the probe when it parachutes to the surface of Titan. The equipment will be activated at an altitude of some 30 km, and the altitude data provided will be primarily used to reset or validate the timing sequences of other measurement instruments. Altitude measuring has been determined critical for the function of the entire probe. For this reason, the probe has been equipped with two independent, simultaneously operating radar altimeters.
The altimeters will send a radio signal at the frequency of 15 GHz, which will be reflected back to the receiver from the surface of Titan. The altitude of the probe can be calculated from the delay of the reflected signal. The equipment will also measure Titan's surface properties on the basis of the intensity of the reflected signal.
Titan receives special interest from researchers as its methane-rich atmosphere is believed to resemble Earth's pre-biotic atmosphere and thus provide more information on the origin of life on Earth. Conditions both on Titan and during the voyage are extremely demanding, and the equipment has been designed to operate at temperatures of down to -200 degrees centigrade. Huygens is the most remote probe to land on another planet; traveling at the speed of light, its radio signal will take some 80 minutes to reach Earth.
Tailored for this very mission, the instruments were designed, manufactured and tested in Finland by Ylinen Electronics Ltd. Construction of the instruments between 1992-1996 served as an opening to space instrument design and manufacturing. Today, Ylinen Electronics is involved in several space projects. Through the development of space instruments, Elektrobit has gained expertise and technologies, which can also be applied in other markets.
Further Information:
Mr Marko Koski
Managing Director
Ylinen Electronics Ltd
Tel. +358 40 8464 203
More information on the Cassini-Huygens probe:
http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Cassini-Huygens
http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov
About Elektrobit:
Elektrobit Group's business idea is to improve the competitiveness of the customer's product and production by assuming total or partial responsibility for product development, product design and the implementation of production and testing solutions.
Ylinen Electronics Ltd. is an Elektrobit Group company specializing in the design and construction of radio frequency measurement instruments. The company's instruments are used in space applications, the Finnish Defence Forces and public authorities.
December 7, 2004
Print this releaseElektrobit in Saturn's Orbit
Ylinen Electronics Ltd., an Elektrobit Group company, supplied measurement instruments for the Cassini-Huygens mission launched by the European Space Agency (ESA) and the American National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). After its seven-year voyage through space, the spacecraft is currently orbiting Saturn. The Huygens probe managed by ESA is scheduled to land on the surface of Titan, Saturn's largest moon, on January 14, 2005.Elektrobit Group supplied the mission with radar altimeters, which will measure the altitude of the probe when it parachutes to the surface of Titan. The equipment will be activated at an altitude of some 30 km, and the altitude data provided will be primarily used to reset or validate the timing sequences of other measurement instruments. Altitude measuring has been determined critical for the function of the entire probe. For this reason, the probe has been equipped with two independent, simultaneously operating radar altimeters.
The altimeters will send a radio signal at the frequency of 15 GHz, which will be reflected back to the receiver from the surface of Titan. The altitude of the probe can be calculated from the delay of the reflected signal. The equipment will also measure Titan's surface properties on the basis of the intensity of the reflected signal.
Titan receives special interest from researchers as its methane-rich atmosphere is believed to resemble Earth's pre-biotic atmosphere and thus provide more information on the origin of life on Earth. Conditions both on Titan and during the voyage are extremely demanding, and the equipment has been designed to operate at temperatures of down to -200 degrees centigrade. Huygens is the most remote probe to land on another planet; traveling at the speed of light, its radio signal will take some 80 minutes to reach Earth.
Tailored for this very mission, the instruments were designed, manufactured and tested in Finland by Ylinen Electronics Ltd. Construction of the instruments between 1992-1996 served as an opening to space instrument design and manufacturing. Today, Ylinen Electronics is involved in several space projects. Through the development of space instruments, Elektrobit has gained expertise and technologies, which can also be applied in other markets.
Further Information:
Mr Marko Koski
Managing Director
Ylinen Electronics Ltd
Tel. +358 40 8464 203
More information on the Cassini-Huygens probe:
http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Cassini-Huygens
http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov
About Elektrobit:
Elektrobit Group's business idea is to improve the competitiveness of the customer's product and production by assuming total or partial responsibility for product development, product design and the implementation of production and testing solutions.
Ylinen Electronics Ltd. is an Elektrobit Group company specializing in the design and construction of radio frequency measurement instruments. The company's instruments are used in space applications, the Finnish Defence Forces and public authorities.