Mission Reports India to launch Eurpope’s Proba-3 spacecraft pair to study the Sun, demonstrate tandem maneuvering in orbit December 3, 2024 Will Robinson-Smith The Proba-3 mission is billed by the European Space Agency as “the world’s first precision formation flying machine.” Liftoff from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in India is set for Thursday, Dec. 5, at 4:12 p.m. IST (5:42 a.m. EST, 1042 UTC).