SSTL Gets EarthCare Contract

Michael A. Taverna mike_taverna@aviationweek.com

Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd (SSTL) has contracted with EADS Astrium's German unit to supply a Multi-Spectral Imager (MSI) for the European Space Agency's (ESA) EarthCARE mission.

The contract is worth 30 million euros ($38 million) to SSTL, which was acquired by Astrium earlier this year. Operating from an orbit of 400 kilometers (240 miles), the MSI will image the Earth at a 500-meter ground sample distance (GSD) over a swath width of 150 kilometers (90 miles).

The instrument will provide spatial context for the single-point measurements made by the radar and LIDAR systems, imaging the Earth in 7 spectral bands: one visible, one near-infrared (IR), two short-wave IR and three thermal IR.

The sixth of ESA's Earth Explorer missions, EarthCARE aims to improve our understanding of the Earth's radiation balance and minimize uncertainties in climate change prediction models by simultaneously measuring the vertical structure and horizontal distribution of cloud and aerosol fields, along with emitted radiation, in all climate zones.

Photo credit: ESA