ESA’s Arctic Weather Satellite – launched and Set to Improve Global Weather Forecasts Using Our Scientific Weather Payload

ESA’s Arctic Weather Satellite (AWS) was successfully launched Friday, August 16, 2024 at 11:20 a.m. PT (8.20pm CET) from the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on the Space-X Falcon 9 Transporter-11 Mission. The satellite carrying an AAC Clyde Space innovative scientific weather payload, power and command and data handling solution has since made contact with the KSAT operational centre in Tromsø, Norway by a team from KSAT, OHB and ESA.

ESA’s Arctic Weather Satellite is an initial prototype mission that aims to demonstrate the usefulness of radiometric measurements to improve weather forecasts in the Arctic region and globally. The final solution would involve a full constellation of satellites to provide more frequent measurement, something that cannot be achieved by the larger geostationary satellites already in use to depict the areas. It will build upon build on existing Arctic monitoring satellites, such as MetOp and MetOp SG, and provide precise, short-term weather forecasts for the Arctic region.

The satellite, which weighs just 125 kg, 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. AAC Omnisys, part of the AAC Clyde Space Group, developed and built this passive microwave radiometer in Gothenburg, Sweden.

The innovative scientific weather payload designed specifically for this mission will provide temperature and humidity measurements of the atmospheric layers, this data will be used for Numerical Weather Prediction and Nowcasting. Humidity data is particularly important for weather forecasting in the Arctic since water vapour can change very quickly in this region.

AAC Clyde Space also supplied 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. The ESA Arctic Weather Satellite has become a flagship project for AAC Clyde Space, charting an exciting development path by combining the AAC Omnisys weather sensors with our classic core avionics.

Arctic Weather Satellite: advancing weather forecasting in a changing climate

OHB Sweden is prime contractor for the mission which also uses OHB Sweden’s InnoSat platform. The industrial team led by OHB Sweden consists of three core-members. OHB Sweden as mission prime, platform provider and system integrator, AAC Omnisys as Instrument prime and Thales Alenia Space as Ground Segment (incl. operations) prime. The entire AWS industrial team includes 31 companies from 12 countries, funded under a contract with the European Space Agency under the Earth Watch program and developed and built within 36 months. AWS 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 after a year in orbit.

“The fact that our satellite is now in Space and will soon be collecting weather data over the Arctic makes us proud. This has been a great team performance, and I would like to thank the OHB Sweden team, Omnisys/AAC and all partners for the good collaboration and ESA for the trust they have placed in our technology. The Arctic Weather Satellite is already the third mission based on our Innosat platform. The success of this project is the best testimony of our capabilities to develop a performant and cost-effective small satellite in a short time frame. We are ready for the new space age,” says Benoit Mathieu, Managing Director, OHB Sweden AB.

“Congratulations to OHB Sweden and to all of the teams involved in this mission on the successful launch. AWS will not only enable forecasting using real-time weather data but will enable the analysis of climate patterns and help us to make informed decisions in our fight against climate change,“ says AAC Clyde Space CEO Luis Gomes

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 Sterna constellation will also support research into climate change. 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.