AirNav RadarBox Teams Up with European Space Agency (ESA) & German Space Agency at DLR to Track Hera Mission Satellite Transport

Hera Mission - Source: ESA/DLR

AirNav RadarBox will be tracking an extraordinary mission involving the transport of the European Space Agency (ESA) & German Space Agency at DLR's Hera mission satellite. This critical phase of the Hera mission begins at Cologne/Bonn Airport (CGN) in Germany, continues via Shannon Airport (SNN) in Ireland, and concludes at Florida's Kennedy Space Center (NASA Shuttle Landing Facility KTTS). The transport will be executed by an Antonov AN-124, one of the world's largest cargo aircraft, marking a significant milestone in planetary defence.

The Antonov An-124-100: A Giant of the Skies

Photo: Volga Dnepr

The Antonov An-124-100 Ruslan, registered UR-82007, is an acknowledged leader in the air cargo market for transporting oversized and superheavy shipments. This aircraft, known for its exceptional capabilities, will transport the mission to the U.S.

Antonov An-124-100M Ruslan Antonov Airlines (Antonov Design Bureau) UR-82007 - Copyright © AirTeamImages.com

How to track Antonov An-124-100 Ruslan on RadarBox

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The An-124-100 is renowned for its ability to carry super-versized cargo of up to 120 tonnes. Its enormous cargo compartment, with a volume of 1,050 m³, provides unprecedented opportunities for transporting non-standard and oversized pieces or shipments requiring special conditions.

Photo: Volga Dnepr

Equipped with multi-leg landing gears and 24 wheels, the aircraft can adjust the angle of its fuselage to simplify loading operations. The An-124-100 has two cargo doors at the nose and tail, featuring expanding loading ramps. For non-standard cargo, the cabin has two electric winches of 3 tonnes traction each and four electric hoists with a combined carrying capacity of up to 30 tonnes.

Photo: Volga Dnepr

A Planetary Defense Mission

The Hera mission, spearheaded by the European Space Agency (ESA) with significant contributions from Germany's DLR (German Space Agency at DLR), is part of a broader effort in planetary defence—a field with global implications. As the most significant contributor, Germany is deeply involved, contributing over 37% of the mission's funding and resources.

The planetary defence has taken centre stage in space exploration, highlighting the need for international collaboration to protect Earth from potential asteroid impacts. In conjunction with NASA's DART mission, the Hera mission tests our ability to deflect an asteroid on a collision course with our planet.

Tracking the Hera Mission Satellite Transport

Photo: European Space Agency

On September 2nd, the Antonov AN-124 will be loaded with the satellite at Cologne/Bonn Airport, where it will begin its journey to the Kennedy Space Center. Hera will launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket at the end of 2024.

Photo: SpaceX

Falcon 9 is a reusable, two-stage rocket designed and manufactured by SpaceX for the reliable and safe transport of people and payloads into Earth orbit and beyond. Falcon 9 is the world’s first orbital-class reusable rocket. Reusability allows SpaceX to refly the most expensive parts of the rocket, which in turn drives down the cost of space access.

Key Flight Details:

1. Flight 1 ADB317F:
   It takes off at 03:00 UTC from Leipzig/Halle Airport (LEJ/EDDP), Germany, to Cologne Bonn Airport, Germany (CGN/EDDK) and lands at 04:00 UTC.

1. Flight 2: ADB3817:
   It departs from Cologne Bonn Airport at 19:00 UTC and heads for Shannon Airport, Ireland, where it will land at 21:00 UTC. The Antonov will be loaded with the Hera satellite and make a technical stop in Shannon.

1. Flight 3: ADB3817 (Continued):
   Takes off from Shannon Airport at 02:00 UTC and lands at NASA Shuttle Landing Facility (KTTS) at noon UTC.
   This final leg will deliver the satellite to the Kennedy Space Center, where it will be prepared for its upcoming launch.

Hera Mission: A Leap Towards Planetary Defense

The Hera mission represents ESA's first dedicated planetary defence mission. By investigating the Didymos binary asteroid, Hera will provide valuable insights into the outcome of NASA's DART impact. It will examine the internal properties of Dimorphos and conduct a detailed study of its surface, gravity, and shape. The mission will also deploy two CubeSats, Milani and Juventas, to conduct further scientific investigations.

This mission builds on nearly two decades of ESA's pioneering work in planetary defence, including early concept studies and collaborations like the Asteroid Impact and Deflection Assessment (AIDA). The data gathered by Hera will be instrumental in developing reliable asteroid deflection techniques, ensuring that we are prepared to protect our planet from future threats.

Exploring a Binary World

Photo: European Space Agency

While Hera is designed as a planetary defence mission, it will contribute substantially to asteroid science. Beyond the headline results of measuring the effectiveness of kinetic impactor deflection technology, Hera will:

1. Make the first rendezvous for the first comprehensive characterisation of a binary near-Earth asteroid (NEA), noting that 15% of minor asteroids are binaries, allowing a precise comparison with theoretical models and assessment of the binary NEA production mechanism.

2. Probe the subsurface and interior properties of an asteroid for the first time.

3. Constrain the surface structure and regolith mobility on both Didymos and Dimorphos, allowing a first insight into how material properties may affect asteroid satellite formation.

4. This provides a remarkable opportunity to study the surface geophysics of objects of different sizes and surface gravity, probably formed from the same material.

5. Obtain the first in-situ characterisations of the properties of an asteroid, Dimorphos, whose size (≈160 m) is at the frontier between gravity- and strength-dominated structures.

6. Investigate an asteroid, Didymos, whose spin period of 2.26 hrs places it at the stability limit.

7. This will allow, for the first time, the measurement of the detailed properties of an asteroid crater formed in an impact experiment at an impact speed (≈6 km/s) similar to interasteroid collisions, including its surface and subsurface properties.

8. Characterise a crater formed with known energy on a body of 160 metres in size for the first time, allowing us to verify whether strength or gravity is the most influential parameter in crater production on such a small asteroid.

9. Investigate the crater formed by the DART impact for the potential identification of fresh, unweathered material on a silicate asteroid to understand possible space weathering processes.

10. Confirm whether the larger-than-expected crater resulting from the impact experiment performed by the Japanese space mission Hayabusa2 on asteroid Ryugu is due to control by gravity as currently understood or a consequence of significant flaws in current cratering theory in low-gravity regimes.

Stay Tuned with AirNav RadarBox

AirNav RadarBox will provide real-time tracking of the satellite's transport flights on our social media platforms, including X, Facebook and Threads, as the Hera mission unfolds. This mission is a technical achievement and a testament to international collaboration in safeguarding our planet. Stay tuned as we follow this exciting journey from Cologne to Kennedy Space Center and ultimately to Dimorphos in 2026.

For further information, contact: 

AirNav Systems

ESA (European Space Agency) 

German Space Agency at DLR

Follow DLR and ESA on social media for more updates:

German Space Agency at DLR

1. https://x.com/DLR_SpaceAgency
2. https://www.instagram.com/dlr_spaceagency/
3. https://www.linkedin.com/company/dlrspaceagency/

ESA (European Space Agency)

1. https://x.com/esa
2. https://x.com/esaoperations
3. https://x.com/ESA_Hera
4. https://www.instagram.com/europeanspaceagency/