Launched on October 22nd 2001, ESA’s Earth watcher Proba-1 (PRoject for On Board Autonomy) celebrates twenty-three years of service. In its time, the small satellite was totally innovative in many ways ranging from technology, over development time and low-cost production to fully autonomous capabilities.

Notwithstanding its advanced age, the technological demonstrator “Made in Belgium” remains fully operational and has become ESA’s longest Earth observation mission of all time.

Initially intended for a two-year mission, Proba-1's prolonged operational life has yielded valuable insights into the resilience of its onboard systems. Its mission is set to end in 2028, making it the first satellite scheduled for removal by ESA's ClearSpace-1 debris removal spacecraft.

A real success story in which SPACEBEL is proud to be involved with the development of the spacecraft’s on-board software and the operational maintenance including the successful delivery of a software “patch” to correct the effects of the orbit degradation due to the satellite’s extended lifetime.

Built by RedWire Space in Belgium, Proba-1 has been the first satellite of ESA’s Proba series to which Belgium has been closely contributing, SPACEBEL in particular as contractor for the software subsystem.
The Proba family also includes:

• Proba-2 (Sun observation, Space Weather) – still in operation;
• Proba-V (Earth observation, worldwide vegetation monitoring) - mission ended on October 31st 2021;
• Proba-3 (formation flying technology & study of the Sun’s corona, Space weather) – set to fly off at the end of 2024.