Airbus Defence and Space finishes final preparations for launch of LISA Pathfinder

European Space Agency’s gravitational wave detection demonstrator passes space tests


LISA Pathfinder, ESA’s gravitational-wave detection technology demonstrator, is ready to be shipped to Kourou in French Guiana in preparation for its launch in November. Airbus Defence and Space, the world’s second largest space company, has completed a series of intensive tests on LISA Pathfinder’s propulsion and science modules at IABG, near Munich, to prove its space worthiness. The 1.9-tonne spacecraft, primed by Airbus Defence and Space will be launched on a European Vega rocket.

“LISA Pathfinder is a remarkable project to test the ultra-high precision technologies that will be needed to detect gravitational waves in space. Albert Einstein predicted that the waves exist – but so far none have been found. LISA Pathfinder will take us one huge leap nearer to finding them,” said Michael Menking, Head of Earth Observation, Navigation & Science programmes at Airbus Defence and Space.

LISA Pathfinder carries the LISA Technology Package (LTP), which weighs around 150 kilograms. It consists of a laser interferometer measuring changes in the distance between two precision-engineered gold/platinum test masses, each weighing 1.96 kilograms. Once in orbit around the first Earth Sun Lagrange point, 1.5 million km from Earth, the two test masses will be released from a locking mechanism and held in position with a weak electrostatic field that can be very precisely controlled. Once in science mode, the electrostatic actuation of the primary test mass is switched off. The spacecraft is then controlled, via the drag-free and attitude control system, to follow the test mass. The laser interferometer and electrostatic sensors will track the motion of the test masses inside the spacecraft, ensuring they remain undisturbed. The interferometer can measure the relative position and orientation of the masses – which are around 40 centimetres from each other – to an accuracy of less than one millionth of the width of a human hair, which is less than 0.01 nanometre.

The LISA technologies also include two types of tiny thrusters so small that a thousand would be needed to lift a sheet of paper on Earth. The mission will carry out in-orbit testing of these micro-propulsion systems, as well as an additional drag-free control system from NASA and several innovative technologies associated with the payload.

ESA has selected the gravitational universe science theme for its third Large Class L3 mission, for which a LISA-like mission is a leading candidate. Gravitational radiation will allow astronomers to study our universe in a new way and future telescope systems will be able to observe exotic sources, such as colliding super-massive black holes, as never before.

LISA Pathfinder is paving the way for a future large space observatory that ultimately will directly observe and precisely measure gravitational waves. These minute distortions in space-time require very sensitive and highly precise measuring technology, the performance of which can only be tested in a space environment.

Airbus Defence and Space in the UK was chosen by the European Space Agency (ESA) to build the LISA Pathfinder and is responsible for delivering the integrated turnkey satellite. Airbus Defence and Space in Germany has been commissioned by ESA and the German Aerospace Center, DLR, as the systems leader for the LTP, which was developed with contributions from European research institutes and companies.

Airbus Defence and Space
Airbus Defence and Space is a division of Airbus Group formed by combining the business activities of Cassidian, Astrium and Airbus Military. The new division is Europe’s number one defence and space enterprise, the second largest space business worldwide and one of the 10 largest global defence enterprises. It employs more than 38,000 employees generating revenue of approximately €13 billion per year.


Contacts:
Astrid Emerit
+ 33 1 39 06 89 43
astrid.emerit@airbus.com

Jeremy Close
+ 44 14 38 77 38 72
jeremy.close@airbus.com

Gregory Gavroy
+ 33 1 39 06 89 42
gregory.gavroy@airbus.com

Ralph Heinrich
+ 49 89 607 33971
ralph.heinrich@airbus.com

Mathias Pikelj
+ 49 75 45 89 123
mathias.pikelj@airbus.com

Francisco Lechón
+ 34 91 586 37 41
francisco.lechon@airbus.com

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Nepal earthquake deformations

By Stefan Mühlbauer




Radar images can be used to examine deformations of the land surface. Therefore an area of interest has to be recorded before and after a disruption event presuming the exactly equal orbit and inclination of the sensor. The wave patterns of the two images are combined and turned into a 3d surface. After removing topography, very small deformations (mm) can be detected even within space borne derived imagery. The technique is called radar interferometry (InSAR). It tells how much a land surface moved in relation to the satellite in orbit.

Nepal and particularly the area around its capital Kathmandu were hit by a strong earthquake on April 25 2015. The 7.8 magnitude earthquake claimed over 5000 dead people and affected millions of people living in that area.

For the earthquake in Nepal, Sentinel-1A’s swath width of 250 km over land surfaces has allowed for an unprecedented area size to be analysed from a single scan. Two images taken before and after the earthquake were combined. The resulting interference patterns reveal the extent of deformation, whereas one colour fringe refers to a deformation of around half of the used radar wave length (ca 2,8cm). Thus, colour tapes lying close together imply a high deformation whereas dispersed colour bands refer to less affected surface disruptions. Radar imagery from the Sentinel-1A satellite shows that the maximum land deformation is only 17 km from Nepal’s capital, Kathmandu, which explains the extremely high damage experienced in this area.

Interferogram over Kathmandu, Nepal, derived from two Sentinel-1A scans on 17 and 29 April 2015 – before and after the 25 April earthquake. Each ‘fringe’ of colour represents about 2.8 cm of deformation. The large amount of fringes indicates a large deformation pattern with ground motions of 1 m or more. Source: ESA

The interference pattern itself does not reveal weather the surface lifted or dropped. Scientists from the German Aerospace Agency (DLR) have used data from Sentinel 1-A to create a map that reveals how much and in which direction the land in and around Kathmandu moved in relation to the satellite in orbit. The map is counterintuitive in the sense that blue colors (negative value) indicate areas that raised, while the yellowish to reddish tone reveals areas that sagged (positive values) due to the earthquake. The map shows that the terrain in Kathmandu raised by around 0.8m, the mountainous area right in the North of Nepal’s capital thrusted skywards of up to 2m! At the same time the mountainous region farther North of Kathmandu dropped by less than a meter.

Changes in elevation and position that occurred as a result of the April 25, 2015 earthquake in Nepal are depicted in this image based on satellite data. Areas in blue were raised by about 0,8 meters, the ones in dark blue were lifted up to 2,5 meters. (Source: DLR)

Imagery from the Sentinels and other Copernicus contributing missions are coordinated by ESA to be used by the Copernicus Emergency Management Service (EMS), which supports all phases of the emergency management cycle. Sentinel-1A is the first satellite for the Copernicus environment-monitoring programme led by the European Commission. Its all-weather, day-or-night radar imageryis particularly suited to support impact assessment for many types of geohazards. The satellite is planned to provide systematic observations of tectonic and volcanic areas at global level.



Source: ESA, Discover

TerraSAR-X satellite feeding of Copernicus Data Warehouse extended until 2020

Airbus Defence and Space, owner of the commercial distribution rights for TerraSAR-X data, and ESA have signed a contract securing the continued supply of TerraSAR-X data for the Copernicus Data Warehouse. The agreement is valid until the end of 2020, thus continuing the successful cooperation between Airbus Defence and Space and ESA for the provision of TerraSAR-X data to public institutions across Europe in place since 2008.

TerraSAR-X has been a key data source particularly for activities addressing emergency and security related issues, reliable monitoring needs, and land cover change, both in Europe and beyond. Its unique reliability and high accuracy make it an ideal data source within ESA's multi-mission approach.

The Copernicus programme is set to make a step change by providing reliable, timely and accurate services to manage the environment, understand and mitigate the effects of climate change and help respond to crises. The success of this initiative relies on the provision of robust data, predominately from a fleet of Earth observation satellites called Sentinel and supplemented by data from Member States’ satellites (e.g. TerraSAR-X, Pléiades and SPOT). The Copernicus Data Warehouse provides comprehensive and coordinated access for all users to all Copernicus space data both from the Sentinel missions as well as the contributing missions through a single harmonised interface.

The agreement includes the provision of archived and newly acquired TerraSAR-X data for the Copernicus core datasets in the area of maritime monitoring, as well as additional datasets for further maritime applications particularly sea ice monitoring. The contract also includes the maintenance for the Copernicus-specific interfaces for the ordering, delivery and reporting process that have been established during the previous phases.
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Ariane 5 launch: double success for Airbus Defence and Space

Ariane 5 has been successfully launched from Kourou, French Guiana, for the 66th time in a row, placing in orbit the fourth Meteosat Second Generation (MSG-4) satellite, over 50% of which was built by Airbus Defence and Space, the world’s second largest space company. The company’s most outstanding contribution to MSG-4 is the SEVIRI instrument, considered as the most capable weather instrument in geostationary orbit. Thales Alenia Space is prime contractor for all the Meteosat satellites since the start.

The SEVIRI (Spinning Enhanced Visible and Infrared Imager) instrument is an imaging radiometer that was designed and developed by Airbus Defence and Space. The instrument observes weather phenomena in the visible and infrared spectra across a third of the Earth’s surface. This is the fourth SEVIRI instrument built for MSG and the 11th radiometer designed and developed by Airbus Defence and Space for the Meteosat constellation, the first instruments of which operated in space for up to 19 years. Since the first model began operating in orbit in 2004, SEVIRI has become a global benchmark in the design of the next generation of radiometers. It is the most reliable weather instrument currently in geostationary orbit.

MSG-4 will allow EUMETSAT, the European organisation for the exploitation of meteorological satellites, to guarantee continuity of the MSG service for more than 10 years.

The satellite is the last of the Meteosat Second Generation satellites resulting from the successful cooperation between EUMETSAT and the European Space Agency (ESA).

The main application of the Meteosat service from geostationary orbit is very short-range forecasting of high impact weather. The service also delivers unique inputs to weather prediction models, complementing the primary inputs delivered by the polar-orbiting MetOp satellites, which are also built by Airbus Defence and Space.

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Airbus Defence and Space signs first contract with Eutelsat and ESA

Airbus Defence and Space has signed the first contract for the fully reconfigurable Quantum satellite with Eutelsat and the European Space Agency (ESA). The Quantum satellite will be operated and commercialised by Eutelsat and will be able to adapt to new demands in coverage, bandwidth, power, frequency configurability and even change its orbital position.

Quantum will be the first generation of universal satellites able to serve any region of the world and adjust to new business without the user needing to procure and launch an entirely new satellite. Featuring phased array antennas and flexible connectivity, which is fully reconfigurable in orbit, Quantum will be able to adjust its coverage and capacity to suit customers’ needs as and when they change.

The new design is a first in the commercial satellite industry. It features software defined ‘receive’ and ‘transmit’ coverages in Ku-band, including on-board jamming detection and mitigation. It allows customers to maintain access to premium capacity throughout the 15 year lifetime of the satellite by allowing footprint shaping and steering, frequency adjustment and bandwidth reassignment. This ability to track or establish new markets, mirror or complement another satellite anywhere in geostationary orbit will transform fleet management and result in a significantly more efficient use of resources.

Quantum builds on the payload technology developed by Airbus Defence and Space in the UK under the ESA Advanced Research in Telecommunications Systems programme (ARTES 33.3) and supported by the UK Space Agency.

The Eutelsat Quantum satellite will be primed and manufactured by Airbus Defence and Space in the UK and use a new small geo satellite platform called GMPT from Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd (UK). Both developments are supported by the UK Space Agency.

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Airbus Defence and Space signs first contract with Eutelsat and ESA

Airbus Defence and Space has signed the first contract for the fully reconfigurable Quantum satellite with Eutelsat and the European Space Agency (ESA). The Quantum satellite will be operated and commercialised by Eutelsat and will be able to adapt to new demands in coverage, bandwidth, power, frequency configurability and even change its orbital position.

Quantum will be the first generation of universal satellites able to serve any region of the world and adjust to new business without the user needing to procure and launch an entirely new satellite. Featuring phased array antennas and flexible connectivity, which is fully reconfigurable in orbit, Quantum will be able to adjust its coverage and capacity to suit customers’ needs as and when they change.

The new design is a first in the commercial satellite industry. It features software defined ‘receive’ and ‘transmit’ coverages in Ku-band, including on-board jamming detection and mitigation. It allows customers to maintain access to premium capacity throughout the 15 year lifetime of the satellite by allowing footprint shaping and steering, frequency adjustment and bandwidth reassignment. This ability to track or establish new markets, mirror or complement another satellite anywhere in geostationary orbit will transform fleet management and result in a significantly more efficient use of resources.

Quantum builds on the payload technology developed by Airbus Defence and Space in the UK under the ESA Advanced Research in Telecommunications Systems programme (ARTES 33.3) and supported by the UK Space Agency.

The Eutelsat Quantum satellite will be primed and manufactured by Airbus Defence and Space in the UK and use a new small geo satellite platform called GMPT from Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd (UK). Both developments are supported by the UK Space Agency.

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