AAC Omnisys have delivered a cutting-edge weather sensor payload to OHB Sweden which has been successfully integrated into their InnoSat platform. ESA's Arctic Weather Satellite (AWS) demonstration mission aims to simultaneously improve weather forecasts in the Arctic region and globally, while enhancing our understanding of climate change.
The European Space Agency's Arctic Weather mission will provide frequent coverage of Earth for improved nowcasting and numerical weather prediction. The program aims to build on existing Arctic monitoring satellites, such as MetOp and MetOp SG, and provide precise, short-term weather forecasts for the Arctic region.
AAC Omnisys has developed and built an innovative scientific payload in Gothenburg specifically for this mission, a passive microwave radiometer, which will provide temperature and humidity measurements of the atmospheric layers, this data will be used for Numerical Weather Prediction and Nowcasting.
AAC Clyde Space is also supplying a high-performance STARBUCK power system from its range of microsatellite products, and a Sirius Command and Data Handling System, both designed and built at its Uppsala, Sweden, site.
This 120kg AWS satellite, planned to launch 2024, is the forerunner of a potential constellation of satellites that would supply an almost constant stream of temperature and humidity data from every location on Earth. Meteorologists will also use the mission to improve weather forecasts around the world.
"We are delighted to deliver our custom designed and built payload for this mission. This innovative microwave-based sensor, designed for advanced space projects, provides weather data with superior quality to support improved weather forecasting and data for climate research. Through AAC Omnisys, our capabilities in developing pioneering payloads to meet the needs of our customers have expanded. This mission will not only improve weather forecasting but will empower us with greater knowledge to conserve the planet", says AAC Clyde Space CEO Luis Gomes.
"We are excited to receive the payload from AAC Omnisys and finally mount and integrate it on our InnoSat platform. This is the next important milestone on our plan to deliver and launch the Arctic Weather Satellite before the summer 2024, as planned from the beginning of the project. Together with AAC and our supply chain, we are very proud of Arctic Weather as a showcase of a delivery in time of a small satellite project to ESA within a challenging time frame of 3 years", says OHB Sweden CEO Benoit Mathieu.
OHB Sweden is prime contractor for the mission which also uses OHB Sweden's InnoSat platform. The entire AWS industrial team includes 31 companies from 12 countries. The Arctic Weather Satellite is funded under a contract with the European Space Agency under the Earth Watch program.