ESA’s Arctic Weather Satellite being prepared for environmental tests at IAGB in Ottobrunn, Germany. The photograph shows engineers making the satellite ready for the shaker test which ensures that the satellite will survive liftoff.
The Arctic Weather Satellite is equipped with a 19-channel cross-track scanning microwave radiometer, which benefits from the heritage technology of the Microwave Sounder developed for the MetOp Second Generation satellites. The instrument will provide high-resolution humidity and temperature soundings of the atmosphere in all weather conditions.
The satellite is actually the forerunner of a potential constellation of satellites, called EPS-Sterna, that ESA would build for Eumetsat if this first prototype Arctic Weather Satellite works well.