ESA spacecraft performing well in orbit

The European Space Agency's Proba-2 spacecraft platform is in its second week in orbit and scientists say its operational health is excellent.

The mini-spacecraft and the ESA's SMOS satellite were launched aboard the same rocket Nov. 2 from the Plesetsk cosmodrome in northern Russia. Proba-2 is designed to demonstrate 17 advanced satellite technologies while observing the sun and the plasma environment in orbit, the space agency said.

The next step for Proba-2, which is expected to reach operational status within two months, is the commissioning of its many new technological payloads. The mini-satellite is among the smallest ever flown by ESA.

SMOS, ESA's full-sized Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity spacecraft, will require more time to check and calibrate its equipment, the ESA said.