Boris Smeds
Encyclopedia
Boris Smeds is a Swedish
radio engineer and European Space Agency
employee, noted for detecting a critical flaw in Cassini-Huygens
space mission.
Smeds was born in Uppsala
and received his Licentiate
in Technology from the Department of Electrical Measurements at the Lund University
Faculty of Engineering
in 1972. He has spent most of his working life working for the European Space Agency
in Darmstadt
, Germany
.
In 2000 Smeds and other ESA engineers questioned the sufficiency of the previous testing of the Alenia Spazio
-built communication system on Cassini, and Smeds and his colleague Claudio Sollazzo travelled to the Mojave desert for additional tests, discovering that the design of the receiver on the Cassini orbiter had not taken into account the Doppler shifting of the signals from the Huygens probe
. The results led to a change in the trajectory of Cassini to work around the problem.
A story on Smeds, published in the IEEE Spectrum
in October 2004, called him an "unsung hero".
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
radio engineer and European Space Agency
European Space Agency
The European Space Agency , established in 1975, is an intergovernmental organisation dedicated to the exploration of space, currently with 18 member states...
employee, noted for detecting a critical flaw in Cassini-Huygens
Cassini-Huygens
Cassini–Huygens is a joint NASA/ESA/ASI spacecraft mission studying the planet Saturn and its many natural satellites since 2004. Launched in 1997 after nearly two decades of gestation, it includes a Saturn orbiter and an atmospheric probe/lander for the moon Titan, although it has also returned...
space mission.
Smeds was born in Uppsala
Uppsala
- Economy :Today Uppsala is well established in medical research and recognized for its leading position in biotechnology.*Abbott Medical Optics *GE Healthcare*Pfizer *Phadia, an offshoot of Pharmacia*Fresenius*Q-Med...
and received his Licentiate
Licentiate
Licentiate is the title of a person who holds an academic degree called a licence. The term may derive from the Latin licentia docendi, meaning permission to teach. The term may also derive from the Latin licentia ad practicandum, which signified someone who held a certificate of competence to...
in Technology from the Department of Electrical Measurements at the Lund University
Lund University
Lund University , located in the city of Lund in the province of Scania, Sweden, is one of northern Europe's most prestigious universities and one of Scandinavia's largest institutions for education and research, frequently ranked among the world's top 100 universities...
Faculty of Engineering
Lund Institute of Technology
The Faculty of Engineering is one of the eight faculties at Lund University in Lund, Sweden, commonly called LTH . LTH was originally established as an independent institute in 1961, but was incorporated in Lund University as a faculty in 1969...
in 1972. He has spent most of his working life working for the European Space Agency
European Space Agency
The European Space Agency , established in 1975, is an intergovernmental organisation dedicated to the exploration of space, currently with 18 member states...
in Darmstadt
Darmstadt
Darmstadt is a city in the Bundesland of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Rhine Main Area.The sandy soils in the Darmstadt area, ill-suited for agriculture in times before industrial fertilisation, prevented any larger settlement from developing, until the city became the seat...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
.
In 2000 Smeds and other ESA engineers questioned the sufficiency of the previous testing of the Alenia Spazio
Thales Alenia Space
Thales Alenia Space is an aerospace company born after the Thales Group bought the participation of Alcatel in the two joint-ventures between Alcatel and Finmeccanica, Alcatel Alenia Space and Telespazio.-History:...
-built communication system on Cassini, and Smeds and his colleague Claudio Sollazzo travelled to the Mojave desert for additional tests, discovering that the design of the receiver on the Cassini orbiter had not taken into account the Doppler shifting of the signals from the Huygens probe
Huygens probe
The Huygens probe was an atmospheric entry probe carried to Saturn's moon Titan as part of the Cassini–Huygens mission. The probe was supplied by the European Space Agency and named after the Dutch 17th century astronomer Christiaan Huygens....
. The results led to a change in the trajectory of Cassini to work around the problem.
A story on Smeds, published in the IEEE Spectrum
IEEE Spectrum
IEEE Spectrum is a magazine edited by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. The IEEE's description of it is:IEEE Spectrum began publishing in January 1964 as a successor to Electrical Engineering...
in October 2004, called him an "unsung hero".