17/08/2024
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ESA’s Arctic Weather Satellite has been launched, paving the way for a potential constellation of satellites that would provide more frequent data not only to enhance short-term weather forecasts for Arctic nations, but for the world as a whole.
This new weather satellite was lofted into orbit on 16 August at 20:56 CEST (11:56 local time) aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. It was integrated by Exolaunch as part of the Transporter-11 rideshare mission which also included ESA’s Φsat-2 mission.
The Arctic Weather Satellite separated from the rocket at around 23:30 CEST. Then, at 03:06 CEST on 17 August, the KSAT ground station in Svalbard, Norway, received the all-important signal indicating the satellite’s safe arrival in orbit.
Ville Kangas, ESA’s Arctic Weather Project Manager, said, “We couldn’t be prouder – using the New Space approach, it took just three years to develop and build this new weather satellite, and for a fraction of the cost of a traditional Earth observation mission.
“Now in orbit, the Arctic Weather Satellite’s job is to show how this approach along with its technology, which will yield profiles of temperature and humidity, can be replicated for a potential constellation of similar satellites that would provide an almost continuous stream of data for very short-term weather forecasting, or ‘nowcasting’, for the Arctic and beyond.”
Weighing just 125 kg and measuring 1.0 m x 5.3 m x 0.9 m, the Arctic Weather Satellite is a small satellite – but one with big ambitions.
It carries a 19-channel cross-track scanning microwave radiometer that will yield high-resolution vertical profiles of atmospheric temperature and humidity in all weather conditions.
Humidity data are particularly important for weather forecasting in the Arctic since water vapour can change very quickly in this region.
As a prototype, it is the forerunner of a potential constellation of satellites, called EPS-Sterna, that ESA would build for Eumetsat when this prototype has demonstrated its potential in orbit.
ESA’s Director of Earth Observation Programmes, Simonetta Cheli, said, “The pioneering Arctic Weather Satellite will demonstrate how the availability of more frequent data can improve weather forecasts for the Arctic region, where data scarcity has long been a challenge.
“This mission is a testament to our commitment to advancing space technology swiftly and efficiently, having gone from contract award to completion in just 36 months.
“Moreover, the mission is expected to pave the way to a constellation that would, through better numerical weather predication and short-term forecasts, offer considerable economic benefits to Europe”.
The impacts of the climate crisis are being felt more in the Arctic compared to other parts of the world. Nevertheless, what happens in the Arctic doesn’t stay in the Arctic so these changes are affecting the Earth system as a whole.
While the Arctic is the focus, meteorologists will also be able to use the potential constellation to improve weather forecasts globally. Information from the Arctic Weather Satellite and the EPS-Sterna constellation will also support research into climate change.
The satellite operations team at KSAT in Tromsø, Norway, will now spend the next two months calibrating and commissioning the Arctic Weather Satellite for service.
OHB Sweden leads the Arctic Weather Satellite industrial consortium for ESA. The consortium includes Omnisys Sweden as the prime contractor for the microwave radiometer and Thales Alenia Space France as prime contractor for the ground segment.
The industrial team includes 31 companies, including 14 small and medium-sized enterprises from 12 ESA Member States.