• India will launch the European Space Agency’s (ESA) pioneering Proba-3 mission in September 2024.
• The launch vehicle of choice for this mission is the reliable PSLV-XL rocket, operated by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).
• It will be deployed in a high Earth orbit.

ABOUT PROBA-3

• This ambitious project marks the world’s first precision formation flying mission, with a pair of satellites designed to operate in unison as a ‘large rigid structure’ in the vastness of space.
• Much like the moon passes in front of the sun during a solar eclipse, the two satellites — an occulter and a specialized instrument called a coronagraph — will mimic a natural solar eclipse by lining up 144 meters (472 feet) apart, such that the former blocks out the sun’s glaring disk for the latter.
• Maintaining formation throughout the orbit is difficult due to high fuel costs.
  • Therefore, each orbit will be divided between 6 hours of formation flying manoeuvres at apogee and the rest of the orbit in passive safe drifting.
• Thus, it will mimic an artificial eclipse in space, providing a continuous view of the corona.