OREANDA-NEWS. September 4, 2008. As preparations for the launch of GOCE on 10 September continue on schedule, an important milestone has just been achieved as engineers at the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in northern Russia say farewell to the satellite as it is encapsulated in the two half-shells of the launcher`s fairing.
   
Now sealing the slender five-metre long GOCE (Gravity field and steady-state Ocean Circulation Explorer) spacecraft from view, the protective fairing will not be opened again until around three minutes after launch. Then, two minutes after the fairing half-shells have opened and dropped away, the second stage is released leaving the Breeze-KM Upper Stage to take GOCE to its injection orbit of 285 km above the surface of the Earth. At that moment, the GOCE transmitters will switch on automatically and we will receive the first telemetry signal from GOCE in space.

The GOCE satellite has been at the Plesetsk Cosmodrome since the end of July 2008 undergoing preparation for launch. Activities have now turned to rolling-out the Upper Composite to the actual launch pad, which is about 5 km from the spacecraft preparation facilities, and integration with the rest of the launcher. Launch will take place on Wednesday 10 September at 16:21 CEST (14:21 UTC). The launcher is operated by Eurockot Launch Services, a joint venture between EADS Astrium and the Khrunichev Space Centre (Russia).