Olympus-1 ESA Mission Patch

Olympus-1 ESA Mission Patch

This ESA mission patch was designed for the Olympus-1 satellite, which was launched in 1989.

Olympus-1 was an ESA telecommunications satellite, which at the time was the largest civilian telecommunications satellite that had been built. It was designed to demonstrate new technologies covering TV and radio broadcasting direct to people's satellite dishes. Olympus-1 had a torrid time in orbit though, suffering several issues that shortened its life-time. Firstly, it lost the ability to point its solar panels at the Sun correctly - leading to power problems. Control of the satellite was lost in 1991, with the satellite drifting right the way around Earth. Contact was eventually reestablished, but the satellite was later likely struck during the Perused meteor shower, causing further damage. Regaining control again used more fuel and it was decided to end the mission and put the satellite into a graveyard orbit - an orbit that avoids other still active satellites.

The prime contractor for Olympus-1 was British company British Aerospace, with various other European companies working on the project. The Canadian flag is also shown on the mission patch, as that country has a special status of cooperation within ESA - and worked on the Olympus-1 mission.