15/07/2024
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As native climate change drives additional frequent and excessive local weather events, the need for proper and properly timed forecasting has certainly not been additional important. And now, the following Meteosat Third Know-how local weather satellite tv for pc television for computer has handed its environmental check out advertising marketing campaign with flying colours, taking it a giant step nearer to launch.
This new period of satellites is about to remodel local weather forecasting, considerably in Europe.
Following the spectacular launch of the first MTG-Imager satellite tv for pc television for computer in 2022, which marked the debut of this superior family of six satellites, all eyes in the mean time are on the first MTG-Sounder (MTG-S1) satellite tv for pc television for computer.
Whereas the MTG-Imager significantly improves imaging capabilities over its Second Know-how Meteosat predecessor, the MTG-S1 satellite tv for pc television for computer will introduce a groundbreaking infrared sounding performance, enhancing local weather prediction accuracy even further.
In addition to, it moreover carries the Copernicus Sentinel-4 instrument to look at air air air pollution.
With liftoff slated for subsequent yr, the satellite tv for pc television for computer has endured larger than seven months of rigorous testing at IABG’s facilities near Munich in Germany to guarantee that it may presumably withstand the launch and the merciless ambiance being 36,000 km above Earth’s equator, from the place it’s going to perform for no less than 10 years.
In distinction to the classical ‘shake & bake’ technique, the MTG-S1 environmental check out advertising marketing campaign adopted a ‘bake & shake’ sequence.
Due to this the satellite tv for pc television for computer was first subjected to a thermal vacuum check out, which entails the whole satellite tv for pc television for computer being positioned in an unlimited vacuum chamber for 3 weeks and uncovered to extreme temperatures, ranging from –180˚C to +250˚C.
After rising unscathed, the satellite tv for pc television for computer confronted the ‘shake’ part of the advertising marketing campaign. This included a vibration check out on a vast shaker to simulate the juddering of launch, adopted by an acoustic check out the place it was uncovered to larger than 140 dB, mimicking the noise of rocket ignition and engine burns.
The satellite tv for pc television for computer was in ‘launch configuration’ for every of these exams, which implies that its deployable parts, like its photograph voltaic arrays and antennas, had been folded up. It was moreover loaded with harmless fluid, versus precise propellants, to match its launch weight.
Naturally, engineers seized the possibility to verify the satellite tv for pc television for computer’s exact mass properties, along with its weight and centre of mass. The predictions proved right, with the burden coming in at merely over 3.8 tonnes as anticipated.
After the bake and shake exams, a whole set of sensible exams had been carried out. These included verifying that the mechanisms work appropriately for deployable objects, along with for the inside mechanisms essential for instrument operation.
Effectivity exams, along with the instrument information acquisition chain, had been repeated to guarantee that the satellite tv for pc television for computer’s fantastic effectivity had remained intact whatever the merciless testing.
And if that wasn’t ample, the MTG-Sounder satellite tv for pc television for computer was commanded from the Telespazio and Eumetsat mission administration centres, demonstrating end-to-end command and administration from when it separates from the rocket through to routine operations and end-of-life procedures.
Lastly, the satellite tv for pc television for computer was positioned in an anechoic chamber to test its resilience to all types of electromagnetic interference, whether or not or not from the rocket or from the satellite tv for pc television for computer itself.
ESA’s Christoph Goetz, who oversees all the MTG-S assembly, integration and testing actions, talked about “The entire teams involved are terribly passionate about MTG-S1, which may revolutionise local weather forecasting.
“The worthwhile completion of this intensive environmental check out advertising marketing campaign, merely 10 months after the blending of the two MTG-S1 gadgets, is a giant achievement and a severe step in path of the launch of the MTG-S1 satellite tv for pc television for computer.
“We congratulate all the economic teams, notably OHB Germany, as a result of the MTG-S’s prime contractor, and Thales Alenia Home France, as a result of the MTG mission’s prime contractor.
“We moreover thank Airbus Germany for his or her help in testing Sentinel-4 and naturally IABG Germany for his or her on-site assist by the testing.”
Over the following couple of months, MTG-S1 will bear some closing checks at OHB in Bremen to arrange it for short-term storage sooner than it is time to ship it to the launch web site.
“It’s vitally pleasing to see this very important milestone achieved and I congratulate all teams involved. The following step can be the Qualification and Acceptance Evaluation which will affirm that the satellite tv for pc television for computer is ready for launch,” talked about James Champion, ESA’s MTG Endeavor Supervisor.
The MTG mission is a cooperation between Eumetsat and ESA.
ESA is accountable creating and procuring the MTG satellites. The entire MTG system depends on a group of two types of satellite tv for pc television for computer: 4 MTG-Imagers and two MTG-Sounders. Eumetsat defines the system requirements, develops the underside methods, procures the launch firms, operates the satellites and makes the data on the market to clients.
The MTG-S satellites carry the Copernicus Sentinel-4 mission’s ultraviolet, seen, near-infrared mild spectrometer.
