ADM-Aeolus
 Artist's view of ADM-Aeolus | |
| Mission type | Weather satellite |
|---|---|
| Operator | ESA |
| Mission duration | 3 years (planned) |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Manufacturer | Astrium |
| Launch mass | 1,366 kilograms (3,012 lb) |
| Dimensions | 1.74m x 1.90m x 2.00m |
| Power | 1400 watts |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | 2015 |
| Rocket | Vega |
| Launch site | Kourou ELV |
| Contractor | Arianespace |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Geocentric |
| Regime | Sun-synchronous |
| Perigee | 400 kilometres (250 mi) |
| Apogee | 400 kilometres (250 mi) |
| Inclination | 97 degrees |
| Repeat interval | 7 days |
| Epoch | Planned |
| Transponders | |
| Band |
S Band (TT&C support) X Band (science data acquisition) |
| Bandwidth |
8kbit/s download (S Band) 10Mbit/s download (X Band) 2kbit /s upload (S Band) |
| Instruments | |
| ALADIN: Atmospheric LAser Doppler INstrument | |
|
Living Planet Programme | |
ADM-Aeolus, or, in full, Atmospheric Dynamics Mission Aeolus, is an ESA satellite that is due for launch in 2015.[1][2] ADM-Aeolus will be the first equipment capable of performing global wind-component-profile observation and will provide much-needed information to improve weather forecasting.
Satellite
The Aeolus is the fifth planned satellite in the Living Planet Programme of the European Space Agency. The central aim of this mission is to further the knowledge of the Earth's atmosphere and weather systems. By recording and monitoring the weather in different parts of the world, Aeolus will allow scientists to build complex models of our environment, which can then be used to help predict how that environment will behave in the future. These predictions will be useful in the short-term, since they can be applied to Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP) in order to make forecasts more accurate. The mission will thus improve the knowledge of all sorts of weather phenomena, from global warming to the effects of pollution. ADM-Aeolus is seen as a mission that will pave the way for future operational meteorological satellites dedicated to measuring the Earth's wind fields.
The spacecraft is being built by EADS Astrium.[3]
Instrumentation
The wind-component profiles will be measured by the Aeolus payload, namely the Atmospheric LAser Doppler INstrument (ALADIN).
Atmospheric LAser Doppler INstrument (ALADIN)
ALADIN instrument, essentially a direct detection Lidar, consists of three major elements: a transmitter, a combined Mie and Rayleigh backscattering receiver assembly, and a Cassegrain telescope with a 1.5 metres (4.9 ft) diameter.[4] The transmitter architecture is based on a 150 mJ diode-pumped frequency-tripled Nd:YAG laser operating in the ultraviolet at 355 nm.[4] The Mie receiver consists of a Fizeau spectrometer with a resolution of 100 MHz (equivalent to 18 m/s). The received backscatter signal produces a linear fringe whose position is directly linked to the wind velocity; the wind speed is determined by the fringe centroid position to better than a tenth of the resolution (1.8 m/s).[4] The Raleigh receiver employs a dual-filter Fabry–Pérot interferometer with a 2 GHz resolution and 5 GHz spacing. It analyzes the wings of the Rayleigh spectrum with a CCD; the etalon is split into two zones, which are imaged separately on the detector.[4]
The processing of the backscatter signals will produce line-of-sight wind-component profiles above thick clouds or down to the surface in clear air along the satellite track, every 200 kilometres (120 mi). Wind information in thin cloud or at the tops of thick clouds is also attainable; from the data processing, information on other elements like clouds and aerosols can also be extracted. The data will be disseminated to the main NWP-centres in near-real-time.
Launch
ADM-Aeolus was designed to be compatible with many small-capacity launch vehicles such as Vega, Rockot or Dnepr.[1] In November 2013 ESA confirmed that ADM-Aeolus will be launched with VEGA in one of the five flights of the VERTA Programme.[5][6]
See also
- Aeolus — a name shared by three mythic characters, was the ruler of the winds in Greek mythology
- ESA's Living Planet Programme
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "ADM-Aeolus operations". ESA. 2012-12-07. Retrieved 2013-03-26.
- ↑ "Tellus A: Special issue with manuscripts related to ESA's Atmospheric Dynamics Mission/Aeolus". Bibcode:2008TellA..60..189K. doi:10.1111/j.1600-0870.2007.00296.x.
- ↑ "Aeolus: wind monitoring". Astrium. Retrieved 2013-03-26.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 "ADM-Aeolus (Atmospheric Dynamics Mission)". ESA. Retrieved 2013-03-26.
- ↑ "VERTA Programme". ESA. 2013-11-20.
- ↑ "Aeolus: wind monitoring". EADS Astrium.
External links
- Aeolus page at EADS Astrium
- Aeolus pages at ESA, with latest news
- Aeolus page at ESA Spacecraft Operations
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||