Kourou – Rosetta, the European Space Agency spacecraft built by Thales Alenia Space and launched toward the 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko comet on March 2nd, 2004, achieved its goal and, at a distance from Earth of about 400 million kilometers, is close to the comet getting more and more detailed images of the its nucleus. Rosetta is the first mission designed to study the nucleus of a comet and was reactivated in January this year after a period of hibernation that began on June 8th 2011. In these ten years, Rosetta has followed a long interplanetary trajectory that led beyond the orbit of Jupiter. Thales Alenia Space has taken part in the Rosetta mission as the main contractor for the work on the assembly, satellite integration and testing and the launch campaign, for which he also provided the definition and procurement of mechanical and electrical equipment. (9colonne)
