www.industryemea.com
14
'24
Written on Modified on
ABB News
European Space Agency’s Harmony mission to rely on ABB infrared instruments
ABB to develop thermal infrared (TIR) imaging instruments for two European Space Agency Harmony satellites, helping the research mission gather new data on Earth’s dynamic systems.
global.abb
An artist's impression of the Harmony satellites: Their aim is to observe small-scale movement and deformation fields of the ocean surface, glaciers and ice sheets, sea ice and the solid Earth. ©OHB
ABB has been selected by the German space and technology company OHB System AG to develop and build the thermal infrared payloads for the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Earth Explorer Harmony satellites, planned to launch in 2029. ABB will equip the two satellites with multispectral thermal infrared payloads capable of measuring a wide range of environmental parameters, including sea surface temperature and the position of clouds and their motion. Financial details were not disclosed.
ABB’s multiview TIR instrument will enable ESA to measure cloud position and motion from space, ensuring radiometric precision – the accuracy of the temperature measurement obtained by the infrared instruments compared to that of the true surface temperature (whether cloud or sea). The data collected by the mission will help the advancement of climate science as well as support the understanding and forecasting of extreme weather such as hurricanes. In addition, over land, Harmony will provide information to estimate small shifts in the shape of the land surface, such as those leading to and resulting from earthquakes and volcanic activity, thereby contributing to the assessment of geohazards over geologically active areas.
The two satellites will orbit the Earth in tandem with a Copernicus Sentinel-1 satellite, the configuration of which will change over the course of Harmony’s life in orbit. In the various configurations, the Harmony satellites’ synthetic aperture radar (SAR) instruments will receive the Sentinel-1 radar signals that will bounce back from Earth’s surface. At the same time, Harmony’s thermal infrared instruments will provide complementary observations of the sea surface as well as the position and motion of clouds above it.
ABB’s Thermal Vacuum Testing (TVAC) for space-related hardware in a simulated space environment at the ABB Quebec factory in Canada.
The combination of thermal and radar imagery will help provide a wide array of data, giving more insight into upper-ocean heat exchanges, drivers of extreme weather, and the long-term impact of climate change. The mission will also provide new information for a better understanding of how ice being lost from glaciers is affecting sea-level rise.
ABB has been selected by the German space and technology company OHB System AG to develop and build the thermal infrared payloads for the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Earth Explorer Harmony satellites, planned to launch in 2029. ABB will equip the two satellites with multispectral thermal infrared payloads capable of measuring a wide range of environmental parameters, including sea surface temperature and the position of clouds and their motion. Financial details were not disclosed.
ABB’s multiview TIR instrument will enable ESA to measure cloud position and motion from space, ensuring radiometric precision – the accuracy of the temperature measurement obtained by the infrared instruments compared to that of the true surface temperature (whether cloud or sea). The data collected by the mission will help the advancement of climate science as well as support the understanding and forecasting of extreme weather such as hurricanes. In addition, over land, Harmony will provide information to estimate small shifts in the shape of the land surface, such as those leading to and resulting from earthquakes and volcanic activity, thereby contributing to the assessment of geohazards over geologically active areas.
The two satellites will orbit the Earth in tandem with a Copernicus Sentinel-1 satellite, the configuration of which will change over the course of Harmony’s life in orbit. In the various configurations, the Harmony satellites’ synthetic aperture radar (SAR) instruments will receive the Sentinel-1 radar signals that will bounce back from Earth’s surface. At the same time, Harmony’s thermal infrared instruments will provide complementary observations of the sea surface as well as the position and motion of clouds above it.
ABB’s Thermal Vacuum Testing (TVAC) for space-related hardware in a simulated space environment at the ABB Quebec factory in Canada.
The combination of thermal and radar imagery will help provide a wide array of data, giving more insight into upper-ocean heat exchanges, drivers of extreme weather, and the long-term impact of climate change. The mission will also provide new information for a better understanding of how ice being lost from glaciers is affecting sea-level rise.
new.abb.com
