Press Release
5th January 2011
SSTL wins €10.69m ESA environmental monitoring payload contract
Surrey Satellite Technology Limited (SSTL) has won a €10.69m contract from the
European Space Agency (ESA) via Dutch Space to provide a Short Wave Infra-Red
(SWIR) spectrometer as part of the TROPOMI instrument for the Sentinel 5
Precursor atmospheric monitoring mission.
The SWIR spectrometer will be used to measure carbon monoxide (CO) and
methane (CH4) - the latter being the second most important anthropogenic
greenhouse gas - in the atmosphere. The Sentinel 5 Precursor mission will provide a
source of accurate and detailed data following the completion of the European Space
Agency’s Envisat Mission. This will allow scientists to continue to study both air
quality and climate change until Sentinel 5 is launched in the next decade.
SSTL’s Optical Payloads Group will coordinate an industrial consortium including the
Netherlands Institute for Space Research (SRON) and Sofradir (France) to procure
and integrate the precision remote sensing instrument.
Dr. Matt Perkins, SSTL commented, “It is imperative that we maintain the excellent
atmospheric and environmental data provided by Envisat, and SSTL is very pleased
to take the lead on this important project.”
Dr Ruth Boumphrey, Head of Earth Observation at the UK Space Agency, said,
“Climate change and air quality are global issues requiring the best scientific and
technical approaches and we are very proud that the UK has the technology and
experience to lead such an important European space project.”
The Sentinel 5 Precursor builds on the developments of the TROPOMI instrument
which is led by Dutch Space, The Netherlands, as Prime Contractor. TROPOMI,
which is co-funded by The Netherlands and ESA, includes substantially improved
SWIR measurements compared to the SCIAMACHY instrument onboard Envisat. A
push-broom replaces SCIAMACHY’s scanning instrument providing much smaller
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pixels (7km2x7km2 vs 120km2x30km2), and the measurement sensitivity is also
greatly improved. Immersed grating technology will increase the effective resolution
of the instrument without increasing the size and mass of the module.
Another new development lies in the use of Mercury Cadmium Telluride (MCT)
detectors that are expected to be less susceptible to in-flight radiation damage than
the NIR extended-wavelength InGaAs detector arrays onboard Envisat.
About SSTL
Surrey Satellite Technology Limited (SSTL) is the world's leading small satellite
company, delivering operational space missions for a range of applications including
Earth observation, science and communications. The Company designs,
manufactures and operates high performance satellites and ground systems for a
fraction of the price normally associated with space missions, with over 300 staff
working on turnkey satellite platforms, space-proven satellite subsystems and optical
instruments.
Since 1981 SSTL has built and launched 34 satellites – as well as providing training
and development programmes, consultancy services, and mission studies for ESA,
NASA , international governments and commercial customers, with its innovative
approach that is changing the economics of space.
Based in Guildford, UK, SSTL is owned by EADS Astrium NV.
www.sstl.co.uk
Notes to editor:
Robin Wolstenholme will manage press appointments at the IAC2010, please use the
contact details below to make arrangements.
This press release can be downloaded as a Word or Pdf document at the following
url: http://www.sstl.co.uk/news-and-events
SSTL Contact:
Joelle Sykes, Surrey Satellite Technology Limited
Tel: +44 (0)1483 804243 Email: j.sykes@sstl.co.uk
Press Contact:
Robin Wolstenholme, bcm public relations
Tel: +44 (0)1306 882288 Email: r.wolstenholme@bcmpublicrelations.com
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