Flight model of the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter
Date: 04 March 2015
Satellite: ExoMars 2016
Depicts: Trace Gas Orbiter
Copyright: ESA–S. Corvaja, 2015
The flight model of the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter, pictured in March 2015 while it was in the Compact Antenna Test Range (CATR) at the Cannes (France) facility of Thales Alenia Space. The picture was taken after the finalisation of radiated emission tests. These tests are part of the electromagnetic compatibility test campaign, which is designed to demonstrate that all the spacecraft's systems will operate without interfering with one another, and that they are sufficiently immune from external electromagnetic radiation.
The aperture in the face of the spacecraft facing the camera is where one of the two solar-array drive mechanisms, that point the solar array towards the Sun, will be installed. Before launch, the spacecraft will be covered in Multi-Layer Insulation (MLI) to protect it from the heat of the Sun.
