Hera's Propulsion System Passes Critical Leak Test
by Erica Marchand
Paris, France (SPX) Jul 11, 2024

ESA's Hera asteroid mission, designed for planetary defense, has successfully undergone a crucial phase in its test campaign by being placed back in its transport container.

The spacecraft will remain at the ESTEC Test Centre in Noordwijk, the Netherlands, until the end of August. During this period, Hera's container was used for a global leak test to confirm the integrity of its propulsion system after a 10-month environmental test campaign.

Ian Carnelli, Hera mission manager, explained the process: "Hera's propulsion tanks are loaded up with gaseous helium at 300 bar, or standard atmospheres. Next, we place the spacecraft inside its container, adding sensors to check if the interior pressure remains the same over the course of the day-long test."

Carnelli added, "Hera's propulsion system has already undergone one leak test at the premises of Avio in Italy, back before the Propulsion Module was integrated with its Core Module. But since then, Hera has undergone testing to replicate the stresses of launch and also operations in the vacuum of space, so we need to check no harm was done in the process."

For safety, the leak test took place inside the Test Centre's Large European Acoustic Facility (LEAF), which had also hosted the mission's acoustic testing, simulating the intense noise of take-off.

With this test completed successfully, Hera and its accompanying CubeSats will continue functional testing in preparation for their launch scheduled for early October.

Related Links
Hera at ESA
Asteroid and Comet Mission News, Science and Technology