Press releases - Observing the planet

Los incendios en Grecia vistos desde el satélite SPOT 5

©CNES2009/Distribution Spot Image

La imagen está siendo utilizada como parte del programa lanzado por Europa y sus estados miembros para ayudar a Grecia a combatir los incendios.

Los satélites Spot, construidos por Astrium, son operados por Spot Image, filial de Astrium Services con base en Toulouse.

Además de su uso operacional en la obtención de información acerca de la extensión del daño a lo largo de grande áreas, las imágenes de satélite también ayudan al gran público a hacerse una primera idea del impacto y alcance de estas grandes catástrofes, incrementando la concienciación de la gente acerca de la necesidad de proteger el medioambiente y garantizar la seguridad de todos los afectados.

Las imágenes se puede obtener en (©CNES2009/Distribution Spot Image):

ftp://ftp.spotimage.fr/incoming/ExtCOMM-dgcom/Grece_imageSpot/

Además de ser el operador comercial de los satélites SPOT y suministrador de imágenes de otros satélites de observación óptica y radar, Spot Image es uno de los principales suministradores mundiales de productos y servicios geoespaciales derivados de las imágenes obtenidas por satélite.

Acerca de Astrium

Astrium es una subsidiaria al cien por cien de EADS, dedicada a proveer sistemas y servicios espaciales, civiles y de defensa. En 2008, Astrium facturó unos 4.300 millones de euros con 15.000 empleados en Francia, Alemania, el Reino Unido, España y los Países Bajos. Sus tres áreas principales de actividad son: Astrium Space Transportation para lanzadores e infraestructura orbital y Astrium Satellites para satélites y segmento terreno y Astrium Services para el desarrollo y suministro de servicios por satélite.

EADS es un líder aeroespacial, de defensa y servicios relacionados a nivel mundial. En 2087, EADS generó unos ingresos por 43.300 millones de euros con una plantilla de 118.000 trabajadores.

Contactos para la prensa:

Astrium

Francisco Lechón (Astrium ESP) Tel.: +34 91 586 37 41

Daniel Mosely (Astrium UK) Tel.: +44 (0)1 438 77 8180

Matthieu Duvelleroy (Astrium FR) Tél.: +33 (0) 1 77 75 80 32

www.astrium.eads.net

Spot Image

Jennifer Newlands Tél.:+33 (0)5 62 19 40 10

www.spotimage.fr

Las tecnologías espaciales contribuyen a la lucha contra los incendios forestales en Grecia

Infoterra France, subsidiaria de Astrium, es la encargada de coordinar las operaciones

El servicio SAFER proporciona de inmediato mapas elaborados a partir de imágenes captadas por satélites del programa GMES

Desarrollado en el seno del programa GMES, el sistema global de vigilancia del medio ambiente y seguridad instaurado por la Comisión Europea, el servicio SAFER proporciona mapas de manera urgente que han sido elaborados a partir de imágenes captadas por satélite para facilitar la tarea de los organismos de Protección Civil. La Agencia Espacial Europea va a pedir a varios operadores de satélites —entre los que se encuentra Spot Image— que tomen imágenes de la zona de Atenas. De este modo, el organismo griego de Protección Civil recibirá una serie de mapas que muestren cómo se va desarrollando la situación sobre el terreno. Los mapas así elaborados asimismo harán posible cuantificar con precisión los daños causados por el fuego.

El servicio SAFER, creado en enero de 2009, entra en su fase operativa con equipos de guardia 24 horas al día, siete días por semana. SAFER, de cuya coordinación operativa se encarga Infoterra France, filial de Astrium, utiliza las competencias y know-how de varias decenas de compañías de servicios y laboratorios de investigación europeos especializados en la gestión de riesgos y observación de la Tierra (SERTIT, CNES, DLR, Telespazio, etcétera).

Se trata de la cuarta activación operativa del servicio GMES SAFER desde principios de julio de 2009. Los satélites ya se pusieron a disposición de los interesados durante los incendios de Marsella, de Aullène, en el sur de Córcega, y de Cerdeña.

Acerca de Astrium

EADS es un líder aeroespacial, de defensa y servicios relacionados a nivel mundial. En 2087, EADS generó unos ingresos por 43.300 millones de euros con una plantilla de 118.000 trabajadores.

La imagen muestra la situación tal como la captó el satélite Envisat de la Agencia Espacial Europea. El tamaño de la columna de humo, que se ve a 800 kilómetros de altura, da fe de la envergadura de estos incendios.

Para saber más, diríjase a www.emergencyresponse.eu

Contactos para la prensa:

Astrium

Francisco Lechón (Astrium ESP) Teléfono: +34 91 586 37 41

Matthieu Duvelleroy (Astrium FR) Teléfono: +33 (0)1 77 75 80 32

Daniel Mosely (Astrium UK) Teléfono: +44 (0)1438 77 8180
Ralph Heinrich (Astrium ALL) Teléfono: +49 (0) 89 607 33971

www.astrium.eads.net

Infoterra

Fabienne Grazzini (Infoterra FR) Teléfono: +33 (0)5 62 19 63 26

Gil Denis (Infoterra FR) Teléfono: +33 (0)5 62 19 62 53

www.infoterra.fr

Astrium missions to study Earth-bound asteroid Apophis win international prizes

: Astrium space scientists and engineers in Friedrichshafen and Stevenage in two separate proposals have come in second and third in a worldwide Planetary Society competition put on in collaboration with NASA and ESA for a mission to tag an asteroid heading for Earth in 2029. The competition received 37 mission proposals from 20 countries on 6 continents. The winning entry was led by SpaceWorks Engineering of Atlanta, Georgia, USA, and second place was given to a team of Deimos Space of Madrid, Spain and Astrium, Friedrichshafen, Germany. The proposal submitted by Astrium Stevenage,UK, was awarded third place...

Prize winning second and third place for space scientists in Planetary Society Apophis competition
Competition co-sponsored by NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA)
Winning designs to be presented to world space agencies

Friedrichshafen/Stevenage – 26. February 2008: Astrium space scientists and engineers in Friedrichshafen and Stevenage in two separate proposals have come in second and third in a worldwide Planetary Society competition put on in collaboration with NASA and ESA for a mission to tag an asteroid heading for Earth in 2029. The competition received 37 mission proposals from 20 countries on 6 continents. The winning entry was led by SpaceWorks Engineering of Atlanta, Georgia, USA, and second place was given to a team of Deimos Space of Madrid, Spain and Astrium, Friedrichshafen, Germany. The proposal submitted by Astrium Stevenage,UK, was awarded third place.

Apophis is a 300 metre wide primordial remnant of our solar system – thought to be made largely of rock – circling the Sun in an orbit that brings it close to the Earth. In 2029 it will have a close encounter with Earth. Apophis is subject to gravitational and non-gravitational forces that could slightly shift its orbit to put it on a collision course with Earth in 2036.

Astrium Germany´s mission proposal “A-Track” submitted to the Planetary Society in cooperation with the Spanish company Deimos as prime bidder and further scientific support by the Universities of Stuttgart and Pisa was awarded the second place and a $10 000 prize. The selection of Deimos and Astrium Germany in a worldwide competition as the leading European team underlines the excellence and competence of the involved system engineers, which has been established in a long standing close cooperation with regard to asteroid mission preparation within the European Space Agency´s Don Quijote programme. Don Quijote is a mission concept under development since 2003, which aims -besides scientific investigation of the target body- at probing potential near earth asteroid deflection methods. It features both, an orbiter and impactor spacecraft launched sequentially to the same target. The orbiter investigates the target body prior and after the impactor creates a crater and exposes primitive material which can be investigated in detail by the remote sensing instrumentation on the orbiter. Also the momentum transfer and the complex interior structure shall be determined by precise radio tracking.

The “A-Track” proposal foresees a launch in April 2013 to the near earth asteroid Aphophis using chemical propulsion for transfer and orbit insertion after 11 month transfer time. Precise radio-tracking from earth in X and K band while orbiting the asteroid will allow to determine the orbit parameters and the complex influence of non-gravitational forces (solar light pressure, thermal radiation, Yarkovsky effect) affecting those with unprecedented precision. The mission goal of a tracking accuracy of 14 km (3 sig) will be surpassed after 2 weeks of measurement and will reach order of 200 m in less than one year. That level of precision will allow a forecast of the earth close encounter parameters and whether the asteroid will pass earth within the “keyhole position” putting it onto a collision course for the next close encounter in 2036. Albeit the probability of this to happen is not very high for the case of Aphophis, the mission is a full rehearsal to cope with similar threats to be expected in coming years and once an appreciable census of near earth objects is established in the coming years. Any potential deflection measures require this type of precision knowledge prior to taking action in order to not unintentionally worsening the situation. Equally important is the exact knowledge of the asteroid composition (pile of gravel, solid), which will be investigated as well via remote sensing equipment on board of the orbiter.

A-Track is designed as a mission to make maximum use of existing and proven components derived e.g. from the existing missions MarsExpress, VenusExpress, Rosetta, LISAPathfinder and other technology developments at Astrium in order to meet the schedule and cost constraints.

The second Astrium mission proposal called “Apex” submitted to the Planetary Society was awarded third place and a $5,000 prize further confirming Astrium´s competence in that matter.

Similar to A-Track, the Apex mission concept foresees a launch in 2013 to rendezvous with the asteroid and plot its orbit accurately, map its surface in detail, and determine its thermal properties.

Under the proposal the Astrium Apex mission would rendezvous with Apophis in January 2014 and spend three years sending data back to scientists and engineers on Earth. The mission concept differs from A-Track in payload composition, budgets and cost. From the data, orbit modelling would enable an accurate prediction of the risk of collision.

Both Astrium teams in Friedrichshafen and Stevenage, respectively, have been and are involved in related activities for solar system research pursued by the European Space Agency like Rosetta, a comet orbiter and lander launched in 2004 and Bepi Colombo, a Mercury orbiter to be launched in 2013 , both missions developed in Friedrichshafen as prime contractor and further in the successful planetary orbiters MarsExpress and Venus Express.

Presently, both teams are preparing for the upcoming asteroid sample return mission Marco Polo, which has been recently selected as a candidate within ESA´s Cosmic Vision programme. Marco Polo is a mission presumably in cooperation with Japan´s JAXA for a sample return of primitive asteroid material.

It is imperative to collect data on Apophis as soon as possible to know whether it is on a collision course or not. The safest way to avoid disaster is to nudge the asteroid to change its orbit. Leaving it too long would make it impossible to build a spacecraft powerful enough to move its orbit. Ideally the orbit would need to be changed before 2025 to be sure it misses the Earth.

Apophis is known to be spinning and the effect of heat from the sun’s rays being released affects the orbit – the Yarkovsky Effect. Understanding this process in more detail is crucial to determining whether the asteroid will fly through the “keyhole” – at present it is not clear how the object is spinning.

The Planetary Society says: “If Earth were ever going to mount a defence against a dangerous asteroid, international cooperation would be vital in protecting the planet. That spirit of international cooperation was exemplified by the teams, which won second and third place overall.”

The Planetary Society is an international group founded by among others Carl Sagan (http://www.planetary.org). According to current modelling, Apophis will come within 36,000 km of Earth in 2029 – nearer than the geostationary satellites which provide global communications...many of which were built by the Astrium teams in Europe.

About Astrium

Astrium, a wholly owned subsidiary of EADS, is dedicated to providing civil and defence space systems and services. In 2006, Astrium had a turnover of €3.2 billion and 12,000 employees in France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Spain and the Netherlands. Its three main areas of activity are Astrium Space Transportation for launchers and orbital infrastructure, and Astrium Satellites for spacecraft and ground segment, and its wholly owned subsidiary Astrium Services for the development and delivery of satellite services.

EADS is a global leader in aerospace, defence and related services. In 2006, EADS generated revenues of €39.4 billion and employed a workforce of more than 116, 000.

Media Contacts:

Rémi Roland (Astrium FR) Phone: +33 (0) 1 77 75 80 37

Jeremy Close (Astrium UK) Phone: +44 (0)1 438 77 3872

Mathias Pikelj (Astrium GER) Phone: +49 (0) 7545 8 91 23

http://www.astrium.eads.net

TerraSAR-X exceeds all expectations

: Oberpfaffenhofen/Friedrichshafen/Neustrelitz, 21 June 2007 – Only four days after the German radar satellite TerraSAR-X was launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, the first crystal clear satellite images appeared on the monitors at the DLR space centre in Oberpfaffenhofen, only 30 minutes after the data had been received by the ground station in Neustrelitz.

German radar satellite transmits first data in record time
Ground station receives first images only five days after launch

: Oberpfaffenhofen/Friedrichshafen/Neustrelitz, 21 June 2007 – Only four days after the German radar satellite TerraSAR-X was launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, the first crystal clear satellite images appeared on the monitors at the DLR space centre in Oberpfaffenhofen, only 30 minutes after the data had been received by the ground station in Neustrelitz.

Although the satellite will only reach its final orbital position in ten days’ time, these data – recorded for test purposes only – already display a remarkably high level of detail and quality.

Over the next few months, DLR’s TerraSAR-X team will be completing calibration of the radar instrument and optimising the data processing chain.

The TerraSAR-X Earth observation satellite is a joint venture being carried out under a public-private-partnership between DLR and Astrium GmbH. DLR covers the whole range of required technologies, from the initial design and mission control to the processing and scientific analysis and application of the data obtained. Astrium GmbH developed, built and launched the satellite; the exclusive commercial exploitation rights are held by the geo-information service provider Infoterra GmbH (Friedrichshafen).

About Astrium: Astrium, a wholly owned subsidiary of EADS, specialises in civil and military space systems and space-based services. In 2006, Astrium achieved revenues of 3.2 billion euros and employed approximately 12,000 people in France, Germany, Spain, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. The company’s core business is divided into three areas: the two business units Astrium Space Transportation (for launch vehicles and space infrastructures) and Astrium Satellites (for satellites and ground segments), and the wholly owned subsidiary Astrium Services for the development and delivery of satellite-based services.

EADS is one of the world’s leading suppliers of aerospace and defence systems and all associated services. In 2006, the company’s revenues amounted to around 39.4 billion euros, with a workforce of more than 116,000 employees.

About Infoterra: Infoterra GmbH, Germany, was founded in 2007 for the commercial exploitation of the TerraSAR-X data. The company is responsible not only for the commercial distribution of the data, but for the development and marketing of derived geo-information products and services as well.

Infoterra GmbH employs a workforce of 40 in Friedrichshafen, Germany, and is part of the Infoterra Group, which comprises companies in France, Germany and the United Kingdom with over 300 employees and a turnover of more than 50 Mio Euro.

About DLR: DLR is the national aerospace research center of the Federal Republic of Germany. Its extensive research and development activities in the aerospace, transportation and energy sectors are embedded in national and international cooperation ventures. In addition to its own in-house research, the DLR, acting as the Space Agency of the Federal Government, is responsible for planning and implementing Germany's astronautical activities as well as for representing the country's interests on the international plane. Furthermore, DLR is the apex organization for Germany's largest project management agency.

DLR employs a staff of about 5,100 at its 27 institutes and facilities distributed over eight locations, namely Köln-Porz, Berlin-Adlershof, Bonn-Oberkassel, Braunschweig, Göttingen, Lampoldshausen, Oberpfaffenhofen and Stuttgart. It maintains branch offices at Brussels, Paris and Washington, DC.

Press contacts

Remi Roland	ASTRIUM (FR)	+33 (0)1 77 75 80 37
Mathias Pikelj	ASTRIUM (GER)	+49 (0) 7545 8 91 23
Jeremy Close	ASTRIUM (UK)	+44 (0)1438 77 38 72

: www.astrium.eads.net
> <a href="http:/www.terrasar.de">www.terrasar.de

Video-Footage and Sound-bites in broadcast quality can be downloaded from
> <a href="http:/www.medianewsnet.net">www.medianewsnet.net

TerraSAR-X at a glance

Height	4.88m
Diameter	2.4m
Launch mass	1,230kg
of which payload	approx. 400kg
Radar frequency	9.65 GHz
Power consumption	800 Watt (average)
Resolution	1m, 3m, 16m (depending on image size)
Launch vehicle	Dnepr 1 (former SS-18)
Launch	15 June 2007, 04:14h CEST (08:14h local)
Launch site	Baikonur, Kazakhstan
Orbit altitude	514km
Tilt angle towards equator	97.4° (Sun-synchronous)
Life time	at least 5 years

CryoSat-2: a satellite on an icy mission

: © EADS Astrium

Integration start for new research satellite at Astrium

Global ice measurement from space will commence in 2009

Friedrichshafen, 14 March 2007 - One of the greatest challenges to be met by man in the coming years is to understand and contain global climate change. This also includes investigation into whether and to what extent the ice masses are changing at the Earth poles. This question will be answered by Cryosat-2, a new research satellite being developed and built by Europe’s largest space company Astrium for the European space agency ESA. First hardware components have arrived in recent days at the Astrium satellite centre in Friedrichshafen, thus enabling the start of the mechanical integration of CryoSat-2. The satellite is expected to commence its space activities in March 2009.

Scientists assume that the polar ice masses will retreat considerably due to global warming; up to now, however, there is little selective data on these large, unpopulated and difficult-to-access polar regions. The radar satellite CryoSat-2 will remedy this information deficit and provide a global overview for researchers.

For at least three and a half years, CryoSat-2 will measure the thickness of sea-ice and changes at the land-ice margins with a precision previously unattained. The radar satellite data will help to pin down the connection between the melting of the polar ice and the rise in sea levels.

The first CryoSat was completed by Astrium in 2005. But because of a technical launcher defect, the satellite plunged into the Arctic Ocean during the launch attempt in October 2005. A few months later, ESA decided to build the satellite again. the design and configuration of CryoSat-2 are mainly based on CryoSat-1. Nevertheless, as many as 85 modifications are implemented in CryoSat-2.

Polar ice as a climate factor

Polar ice plays a key role in regulating the global climate. Despite being thousands of kilometres away from the most inhabited areas, the ice has a profound effect on the climate in Europe, Asia and the Americas. Three aspects are most important:

Firstly, the polar ice reflects a large portion of the sun's light. As polar ice melts, less sunlight is reflected, leading to the polar regions becoming warmer. Consequently, more ice begins to melt and the reflective capacity is further reduced. This could result in a self-accelerating cycle of global warming.

Secondly, open water radiates a large quantity of heat during the night. Thick sea-ice has a negative effect on this. To a certain extent, it acts as a thermal blanket and therefore plays a significant part in regulating the heat balance of the Earth.

Thirdly, melting polar ice can greatly affect the ocean currents with unforeseen consequences for the climate. They act as giant heat pumps, distributing the energy stored in the oceans around the globe. The best known example is the Gulf Stream, which transports warm water from the tropical latitudes across the Atlantic to northern Europe.

Radar provides more detailed views of ice

CryoSat-2 will circle the Earth in a polar orbit at an altitude of 720 kilometres. The special on-board radar instrument will provide data to determine the thickness and circumference of the polar ice sheets and sea-ice cover. Earlier radar satellites, such as the European ERS 1 and 2 or Envisat, are only equipped with a single antenna which enables them to gather information about uniform ice surfaces over a large area. CryoSat-2, on the other hand, has two antennas. Similar to the way in which humans, with two eyes, can see in 3-D, CryoSat's double radar will be able to scan the surface very precisely. This is called radar interferometry.

With this system, an average accuracy of one to three centimetres can be reached. Thus it can also collect data on non-homogeneous ice structures with very steep sides in the polar seas, glaciers or ice sheets. CryoSat-2's radar altimeter works day or night and can also penetrate clouds. Therefore, it is particularly suited to the research of the large polar ice sheets, which rise up to 4,000 metres above sea level and which are often covered by clouds. The data from the CryoSat mission will provide information about the rate of change of these huge ice sheets.

Astrium and CryoSat-2

Astrium, as the prime contractor for CryoSat-2, is responsible for a consortium of around 25 companies. Astrium in Friedrichshafen is building the satellite platform and integrating all instruments. Ultimately, Astrium is responsible to ESA for the reliability of the whole satellite. The industrial contract is valued at approximately €75 million.

Astrium, a wholly owned subsidiary of EADS, is dedicated to providing civil and defence space systems and services. In 2006, Astrium had a turnover of €3.2 billion and 11,000 employees in France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Spain and the Netherlands. Its three main areas of activity are: the business units Astrium Space Transportation for launchers and orbital infrastructure and Astrium Satellites for spacecraft and ground segment, and its wholly owned subsidiary Astrium Services for the development and delivery of satellite services.

EADS is a global leader in aerospace, defence and related services. In 2006, EADS generated revenues of €39.4 billion and employed a workforce of more than 116, 000.

Media Contact: Mathias Pikelj +49 (0) 7545 8 91 23

http://www.astrium.eads.net

CryoSat-2 figures

Mass:	720 kg
Dimensions:	4.6 x 2.34 x 2.2 m
Payload:	Radar altimeter (SIRAL)
	Data receiver (DORIS)
	Laser retro-reflector
	Star trackers (3)
Height resolution:	1 to 3 cm
Horizontal resolution:	approx. 300 m
Industrial contract:	approx. 75 million euros
Mission duration:	at least 3,5 years
Orbit:	720 km altitude,
	92 degrees inclination
Planned launch date:	March 15, 2009

TerraSAR-X scheduled for launch from Baikonur on 27 February 2007

: © EADS Astrium

German Radar Satellite will deliver New-Quality Radar Data

Friedrichshafen/Cologne, November 23, 2006 - The German radar satellite TerraSAR-X will be launched from Baikonur on February 27th, 2007 on a Dnepr-1 rocket. This new launch date has now been announced by the German Aerospace Centre (DLR), its industrial partners Astrium GmbH and Infoterra GmbH, responsible for the commercial exploitation of TerraSAR-X data.

The launch originally planned for October 31st, 2006, had to be shifted after an unsuccessful launch of a rocket of the same type last summer. Meanwhile the single cause of this launch mishap has been resolved, and, after considering all necessary preparatory activities, February 27th has been selected as the new launch date.

“Our business is already very strong: distribution partners and customers around the world are eagerly waiting for the first datasets” says Joerg Herrmann, managing director of Infoterra GmbH. “Currently, we expect to be able to deliver the first preliminary data products to selected clients even prior to the spacecraft being fully operational”.

TerraSAR-X is designed to become fully operational after 5½ months. Prior to this, scientists will support the mission calibration activities. “Within the last year, we have received more than 200 proposals for scientific use of this new-quality data,” says Achim Roth, TerraSAR-X Science Coordinator at DLR in Oberpfaffenhofen. “We are convinced that numerous interesting and promising developments will evolve in the next years – all based on TerraSAR-X data.”

TerraSAR-X is the first German satellite to be built in a Public Private Partnership (PPP) between DLR and EADS Astrium. Europe’s leading satellite system specialist, EADS Astrium contributes to the cost of development, construction and deployment of the spacecraft. The scientific exploitation of TerraSAR-X data will be conducted by DLR, while Infoterra GmbH is responsible for the commercial marketing. Circling the Earth on a polar orbit at an altitude of 514 kilometers, TerraSAR-X – with its active antenna – will collect new-quality X-band radar data of the entire planet. The satellite will operate irrespective of weather conditions, cloud coverage, and illumination - and will be capable of delivering data at a resolution of up to 1 metre.

DLR is Germany's national research centre for aeronautics and space. Its extensive research and development work is integrated into national and international cooperative ventures. As Germany's Space Agency, the German federal government has given DLR responsibility for the forward planning and implementation of the German space programme as well as international representation of Germany's interests. Throughout the TerraSAR-X Mission, the DLR will run the so-called ground segment. This encompasses the infrastructure that is required to control the satellite in orbit as well as the complete value adding chain: ordering, data acquisition, data reception, image processing, archiving and delivery. www.dlr.de

Infoterra GmbH was launched in 2001 for the purpose of exclusively pursuing the exploitation of TerraSAR-X. The company is responsible for marketing not only TerraSAR-X data, but geo-information products and services derived from, or based upon, this data as well. Infoterra GmbH employs a workforce of 30 in Friedrichshafen and is part of the Infoterra Group, which comprises companies in France, Germany and the United Kingdom with more than 300 employees and a turnover of 50 Mio Euro per year. www.infoterra.de

EADS Astrium is Europe’s leading satellite system specialist. Its activities cover complete civil and military telecommunications and Earth observation systems, science and navigation programmes, and all spacecraft avionics and equipment. EADS Astrium is a wholly owned subsidiary of EADS SPACE, which is dedicated to providing civil and defense space systems. www.space.eads.net

For further information and imagery, please visit www.terrasar.de and www.eid.dlr.de/tsx/start_ge.htm or contact:

Infoterra GmbH Communications Mareike Doepke, T: +49 7545 8 3924, F: +49 75454 8 1337, mareike.doepke@infoterra-global.com, www.infoterra.de

EADS SPACE Media Relations, Germany Mathias Pikelj, T: +49 7545 8 9123, F: +49 7545 8 5589, mathias.pikelj@astrium.eads.ne, www.space.eads.net

Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e.V. Public Relations Dr. Niklas Reinke, T: +49 228 447 394, F: +49 228 447 386, niklas.reinke@dlr.de

Europas neuer Wettersatellit Metop ist jetzt gestartet

Sojus-Rakete bringt von Astrium gebauten Satelliten in den Orbit
Erster europäischer Wettersatellit auf erdnaher Umlaufbahn
Metop wird bessere Mittel- und Langfristprognosen ermöglichen

Baikonur/Friedrichshafen, 19. Oktober 2006 - Europa hat einen neuen Wettersatelliten im All: Am Donnerstagabend, 22.28 Uhr Ortszeit (18:28 Uhr MESZ) startete in Baikonur, Kasachstan eine Sojus-Trägerrakete mit dem von Astrium gebauten Satelliten Metop. Gut eine Stunde später trennte sich der Satellit in rund 800 km Höhe von der Raketenoberstufe. Metop ist Europas erster, Satellit, der die Erde auf einer niedrigen Umlaufbahn umrundet. Dank seiner Daten, werden mittel- und langfristige Wettervorhersagen genauer und zuverlässiger. Außerdem wird der Satellit einen wertvollen Beitrag zur Klimaforschung leisten.

Astriums Geschäftsbereich Satelliten ist Hauptauftragnehmer für Metop und außerdem für drei der elf Instrumente an Bord des Satelliten verantwortlich. Das meteorologische "Herz" des Satelliten, das so genannte Nutzlastmodul, wurde am Astrium-Standort Friedrichshafen entwickelt und gebaut.

Metop ist der erste von drei Satelliten, die Astrium für die europäische Weltraumorganisation ESA und die europäische Wetterorganisation Eumetsat (Darmstadt) entwickelt und gebaut hat. Die beiden anderen Metop-Satelliten sollen in Abständen von etwa 4,5 Jahren ins Weltall folgen, um einen operationellen Wetterdienst über einen Zeitraum von mindestens 14 Jahren sicherzustellen.

Im Gegensatz zu den bekannten europäischen Wettersatelliten der Meteosat-Reihe, stehen die Metop-Satelliten nicht geostationär in 36.000 Kilometern Höhe über dem Äquator, sondern sie umrunden die Erde in rund 800 km Höhe. Ein Umlauf um die Erde dauert rund 100 Minuten. Während die Meteosats die Wetterentwicklung aus einer globalen Perspektive beobachten, führen die Metop-Satelliten kleinräumige aber sehr genaue Messungen durch. Hauptaufgabe der Satelliten ist die Ermittlung von Temperatur- und Feuchtigkeitsprofilen der Atmosphäre. Darüber hinaus wird Metop Wolken beobachten, die Winde an den Meeresoberflächen messen und den Ozongehalt der Atmosphäre überwachen. Außerdem wird Metop Daten von Mess-Stationen am Boden oder auf den Meeren sammeln und Rettungssignale übermitteln können.

Astriums Geschäftsbereich Satelliten ist Hauptauftragnehmer für den Bau der Metop-Satelliten und führt ein Team von mehr als 50 Unterauftragnehmern. Neben der Gesamtverantwortung zeichnet der Standort Toulouse für das Service-Modul verantwortlich. Astrium in Deutschland (Friedrichshafen) ist verantwortlich für Entwicklung und Bau des Nutzlastmoduls. Dieses beherbergt die elf Messinstrumente, die Systeme für die Kontrolle der Instrumente, für die Formatierung, Verschlüsselung und Speicherung der Messdaten sowie für die Übertragung der Daten zum Boden. Darüber hinaus ist der Standort Friedrichshafen für zwei der Messinstrumente verantwortlich.

Astrium, eine 100-prozentige Tochtergesellschaft der EADS, ist das führende Unternehmen für zivile und militärische Raumfahrtsysteme in Europa. Im Jahr 2005 erreichte Astrium einen Umsatz von 2,7 Milliarden EURO und beschäftigte rund 11.000 Mitarbeiter in Frankreich, Deutschland, Großbritannien und Spanien. Astrium hat zwei Geschäftsbereiche: "Space Transportation" für Trägerraketen und orbitale Infrastruktur und "Satelliten" für Satelliten und Bodeninfrastruktur. Die Astrium Tochtergesellschaft "Astrium Services" entwickelt und liefert Satellitendienstleistungen.

Der EADS-Konzern ist ein global führender Anbieter in der Luft- und Raumfahrt, im Verteidigungsgeschäft und den dazugehörigen Dienstleistungen. Im Jahr 2005 lag der Umsatz bei rund 34,2 Milliarden EURO, die Zahl der Mitarbeiter bei mehr als 113.000.

Pressekontakt:

Mathias Pikelj, + 49 (0) 162 29 49 666

TerraSAR-X Proves its Suitability for Space

EADS SPACE

German satellite passes the endurance test
Mission opens up new perspective to Earth observation
Radar can image one million square kilometres per day

Friedrichshafen/Ottobrunn, 18 September 2006 – TerraSAR-X, the German Earth observation satellite, has successfully demonstrated its suitability for space. This week ends a three-month test campaign at IABG in Ottobrunn, in which the Earth observation satellite has been thoroughly examined under space conditions. In addition to proving its performance and vacuum durability under hot and cold weather conditions, the satellite developed and built by EADS SPACE had to endure extreme vibrations and acoustic loads similar to those encountered during a rocket launch.

“The successful completion of the test series marks an important milestone for this mission”, gladly stated Uwe Minne, Director for Earth Observation and Science of EADS SPACE in Friedrichshafen. “Following the test results we are fully justified in saying that TerraSAR-X will be the best and most powerful ever built space radar sent into space.” Thus, for example, the satellite could image one million square kilometres of the Earth’s surface - with a resolution of three metres - regardless of light or cloud conditions. Minne added that it is planned to launch TerraSAR-X from the Baikonur Cosmodrome this very year.

The satellite will circle the Earth at an altitude of approximately 514 kilometres and will scan the surface of our planet with a radar beam day and night regardless of weather and cloud conditions. It will quickly and reliably deliver data for a wide range of applications, thus opening up completely new opportunities for commercial, public and scientific users. TerraSAR-X is the first national remote sensing satellite built in a Public-Private Partnership (PPP). On behalf of the German Aerospace Centre (DLR), EADS SPACE, Friedrichshafen, developed and constructed the satellite by contributing substantial company funds. Infoterra, a subsidiary of EADS SPACE, will be responsible for the marketing of data and products. TerraSAR-X is due to operate for five years, and its successor TerraSAR-X2 is already in preparation. Furthermore, it is planned to build a partner satellite, called TanDEM-X, which is to orbit the Earth together with TerraSAR-X. This tandem is planned to produce a spatial elevation model of the whole Earth with unprecedented resolution.

Commercial use requires high-quality data

The starting signal for TerraSAR-X was the signing of the cooperation contract on 25 March 2002. This contract, with a total volume of €102 million, was awarded by DLR to EADS SPACE to develop, build and launch the satellite. The space company contributed company funds amounting to €28 million and, in addition, financed the development of the geo-information products and their marketing. Since then, DLR has set up the ground segment for data reception and satellite commanding. Furthermore, it will perform data processing, archiving and distribution.

Active radar with zoom function

Following its launch on board a Russian-Ukrainian Dnepr-1 launch vehicle (former SS18 long-range rocket), TerraSAR-X will orbit the Earth in approximately 95 minutes at an altitude of about 514 kilometres. During that period, the Earth continues rotating so that the radar can access any spot on Earth within maximally four days (even within two days in 95 per cent of the cases).

The spacecraft will scan the Earth by means of the so-called "Synthetic Aperture Radar" (SAR) method. Compared to images in the visible range, the radar has the following major advantages: Firstly, the radar beam always produces its own exactly defined illumination. This is quite different for optical satellite images where the respective position of the Sun considerably influences the appearance of a landscape. Secondly, the radar operates day and night and, thirdly, it can also peer through clouds. "This is decisive, especially in regions near the equator which are often clouded", explains Wolfgang Pitz, project manager of TerraSAR-X at EADS SPACE in Friedrichshafen.

Another special feature is the technical variant of an active radar. Active in this context means that the beam can be aligned in a slewing range of 20 to 60 degrees. This is not done by mechanically moving the antenna or the complete satellite, but by superimposing many individual radar beams. Thus, the range which can be covered by the instrument is expanded. "With a passive radar we can take a maximum of two images during a fly-over from Munich to Berlin, whilst now we can take up to twenty", states Wolfgang Pitz.

A broad spectrum of applications is offered by the possibility of selecting three degrees of resolution and image size. In ScanSAR mode, at an image swath of 100km, this zoom function allows the observation of details down to a resolution of 16m. The resolution in Stripmap mode (30 km image swath) is 3 metres and even 1 metre in Spotlight mode (5km by 10 km).

This extremely high image resolution was only possible because EADS SPACE's engineers and technicians operated the radar in the so-called X-band spectrum.

In this field, EADS SPACE can look back on many years of experience which it has proven in scientific predecessor projects, such as the SIR-C/X-SAR mission in 1994 and the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) in 2000. "In this field, we are at the leading edge worldwide" states Wolfgang Pitz.

A variety of applications

Radar data contain a lot of information tailored to meet the needs of every potential user. Commercial areas as well as authorities and scientific institutions will benefit from TerraSAR-X. Infoterra GmbH, a wholly owned subsidiary of EADS SPACE, is responsible for commercial data marketing. DLR, as the Federal government's representative, remains the owner of the data and coordinates their scientific use.

Future users may choose one of two variants: Direct Access Partner (DAP) and Direct Access Customer (DAC). They conclude a contract with Infoterra under which they may receive data with their own station. Other commercial users buy the processed data from Infoterra via a secure Internet portal or via telephone. Scientists can obtain data records for selected research projects from DLR.

TerraSAR-X opens up a broad range of applications. Thus, the cloud-independent operation enables rapid and current mapping of large areas, in particular, of extensive wooded and mountain regions. There is a great demand in many countries, also for determining the forest stands and the forestry biomass. Furthermore, the TerraSAR-X data can be used as a relevant contribution of EADS SPACE to the European project to "Global Monitoring for Environment and Security" (GMES).

Reconnaissance is one of the fields of application for TerraSAR-X data: Intelligence services, reconnaissance aircraft and emergency relief organisations benefit from systems offering not only an extremely high resolution but also on-time data acquisition.

Finally, radar maps can also be used for strategic reconnaissance and deployment of soldiers in crisis areas. "In the first year of operation, we will gain a lot of experience and encounter applications we do not even consider at the moment", says Jörg Herrmann, CEO of Infoterra GmbH. New commercial applications will presumably develop from scientific projects which are supported by DLR.

Novel applications are enabled by another specialty of TerraSAR-X: the "Dual Receive Antenna Mode". In this mode, two parts of the antenna are operated like two eyes. This allows the detection of motion on the ground. This feature will be used for measuring the speed of cars on motorways. The long-term objective of such a technology could be a space-based multi-satellite system for the monitoring and guidance of traffic flows.

In addition to the radar instrument onboard of TerraSAR-X a technology demonstrator will make it into orbit. LCT will be used for in-orbit verification of rapid optical data transfer in space. With the instrument, financed by DLR and built by the EADS SPACE subsidiary Tesat Spacecom, a link is to be established between TerraSAR-X and a ground station. Later on, by means of this new type of laser system large quantities of data can be transferred to the ground. A corresponding station on a second satellite would allow a satellite-to-satellite link, enabling a rapid data exchange via relay stations around the world.

The future: TerraSAR-X2 and TanDEM-X

Sustainability is the avowed objective of the TerraSAR-X project. It is not based on a single Earth exploration but on continuous monitoring. The radar in space shall become a regular, operational system similar to the weather satellites that have been operating in space for many years. Thus, the course is set for the successor TerraSAR-X2 which is to be financed from the gain achieved by Infoterra with the TerraSAR-X images. Its launch is scheduled for 2011.

But the development does not stop and TerraSAR-X technology can be used for further applications. Therefore, EADS SPACE will implement the TanDEM-X (TerraSAR-X add-on for Digital Elevation Measurement) project on behalf of DLR. It consists of a further satellite, which is similar to TerraSAR-X and is to fly at a distance of between 500 metres and two kilometres from TerraSAR-X. Similar to the human eyes' spatial view, TanDEM-X could capture a three-dimensional elevation model of the Earth. Motions, such as ocean currents, could also be detected. TanDEM-X will also be funded in a PPP model. It could be launched in March 2009.

About EADS SPACE

EADS SPACE, a wholly-owned subsidiary of EADS (European Aeronautic Defence and Space company), is dedicated to civil and defense space systems. In 2005, EADS SPACE had a turnover of 2.7 billion euros and 11,000 employees in France, Germany, the United Kingdom and Spain. EADS SPACE has three main areas of activity: Launchers and orbital systems, Satellites and ground systems and Services providing civil and military satellite based services.

EADS is a global leader in aerospace, defence and related services. In 2005, EADS generated revenues of 34.2 billion euros and employed a workforce of more than 113,000.

About Infoterra

Infoterra GmbH was launched in 2001 for the purpose of exclusively pursuing the commercial exploitation of TerraSAR-X data and derived geo-information products and services. Infoterra GmbH has a workforce of 30 employees in Friedrichshafen and is part of the European Infoterra Group with a total workforce of 300 employees in Germany, the U.K. and France.

TerraSAR-X at a glance

Height:	4,88 m
Diameter:	2.4m
Launch mass:	1,230kg
of which payload:	approx. 472kg
Resolution:	1m, 3m, 16m (depending on image size)
Launcher:	Dnepr-1 (former SS18)
Orbit height:	514km on the equator
Tilt angle towards equator:	97.4° (Sun-synchronous)
Life time:	5 years

: Press contact:

EADS SPACE: Rémi Roland +33(0) 1 42 24 27 34

EADS SPACE: Frédéric-Pierre ISOZ +33(0) 1 42 24 28 77

EADS SPACE: Mathias Pikelj +49 (0) 7545 8 91 23

EADS SPACE: Jeremy CLOSE + 44 (0) 1438 77 3872

http://www.space.eads.net

10.000 agriculteurs pilotent leurs cultures à partir d’images satellite

avec le service FARMSTAR, la France est à la pointe de l’agriculture de précision

Paris, février 2006 - Infoterra France (filiale d’EADS Astrium) et ARVALIS - Institut du végétal en partenariat avec l’Institut Technique Interprofessionnel des Oléagineux Métropolitains (Cetiom) et l’Institut Technique de la Betterave (ITB), proposent depuis plusieurs années l’utilisation d’images satellite pour le pilotage par les agriculteurs des cultures à la parcelle.

Ce sont pour 2006, 250 000 hectares, représentant 25 000 parcelles, commercialisés par 45 organismes distributeurs (coopératives, chambres d’agriculture, négoces…) qui sont sous abonnement.

Il est en effet possible de mesurer, à partir des images, des informations très représentatives de l’état de croissance de la culture au niveau de la parcelle telles que l’état de la couverture foliaire ou la teneur en chlorophylle.

La combinaison de ces informations avec des modèles agronomiques développés par ARVALIS - Institut du végétal, le Cetiom ou l’ITB, permet de générer des cartes de préconisations ou des conseils indiquant à l’agriculteur la quantité d’engrais à appliquer dans sa parcelle ou pour le maïs ou la betterave permettant de décider de la date de démarrage de l’irrigation.

Le service est proposé à l’agriculteur sous forme d’abonnement par l’organisme distributeur, client d’Infoterra France. Cet abonnement comprend la livraison de 3 à 6 cartes de conseil selon le type de culture. Les cartes sont distribuées par mail et sous forme papier et le montant de l’abonnement annuel se situe aux environs de 8 à 12€/ha. Elles permettrent à l’agriculteur de recevoir, à chaque stade clé de la culture, des conseils pour la conduite de chacune de ses parcelles.

Ainsi pour le blé l’agriculteur recevra 5 cartes de février à mai

En février, avec la carte d’azote absorbé par la culture, il obtiendra la dose totale d’azote prévisionnelle pour sa parcelle.
A fin mars, la carte de bilan de sortie d’hiver lui indiquera son potentiel de rendement et le peuplement de sa parcelle.
Début avril, celle de risque de verse (les moissons couchées par leur propre poids) lui permettra de prendre les mesures adaptées.
A fin avril, il recevra une carte de réactualisation de son potentiel de rendement lui permettant de vérifier que sa parcelle se développe correctement. Elle constituera également une information importante lui permettant de détecter rapidement toute anomalie éventuelle
Enfin, en mai, il recevra une carte de préconisation azotée 3ème apport pour ajuster sa dose.

Des développements pour le blé, le colza, la betterave et le maïs

Les premières années ont été consacrées à la recherche et développement et à la validation des produits sur le blé.

Les premiers développements ont permis d’identifier les besoins et de développer les modèles permettant d’extraire à partir d’une image au niveau intra parcellaire, des paramètres spécifiques de l’état de croissance d’une culture tels que l’indice foliaire ou encore la teneur en chlorophylle.

De nombreuses campagnes aériennes en France, en Europe, aux Etats Unis ou encore en Amérique du Sud ont permis de valider la corrélation entre les mesures image de ces paramètres et les mêmes mesures sur le terrain.

Le service commercial jugé opérationnel après ces nombreuses validations a démarré sur le blé en 2002.

En parallèle Infoterra France et ARVALIS - Institut du végétal continuent leurs développements sur de nouvelles cultures comme le maïs ou la pomme de terre. Le développement des conseils betterave s’effectue également en partenariat avec l’Institut Technique de la Betterave. La concrétisation en 2005 des tests de validation sur ces cultures permettra la commercialisation des services correspondants en 2006.

Des résultats en terme de rendement et de préservation de l’environnement

FARMSTAR permet une diminution de l’utilisation des engrais tout en augmentant la productivité. Dans près de 70% des cas, ce service a permis aux agriculteurs de réduire leur dose totale d’azote dans un ordre de 10 à 15 kilos d’azote/ha par rapport à leur pratique habituelle. Les bénéfices obtenus se traduisent en gain de rendement, en amélioration de la qualité, en économie d’azote et en supplément de marge brute.

Sur le blé, l’estimation du gain moyen est de quelques dizaines d’euros par hectare.

En outre, la réduction de la consommation d’engrais est bénéfique à l’environnement.

Un programme mondial

Le service FARMSTAR étant un projet d’envergure mondiale, EADS Astrium avec ARVALIS - Institut du végétal, étend ses activités dans d’autres pays européens tels que la Grande Bretagne et l’Espagne.

Des campagnes ont également été réalisées en 2005 en Australie, Afrique du Sud et Canada. Les Etats Unis et le Canada sont des cibles prioritaires pour de nouvelles actions en 2006 mais de nouvelles initiatives sont également prévues au Brésil, en Chine et au Mexique.

L’accès à ces marchés n’est pas une simple transposition de l’offre de conseil française. Il nécessite une compréhension des pratiques agricoles de ces nouveaux pays et de ce fait l’offre doit être personnalisée.

La plate forme Internet Visioplaine

La croissance rapide de FARMSTAR doit également prendre en compte l’utilisation des nouveaux modes d’échange d’information tels que la technologie Internet.

Pour cette raison, Infoterra France a décidé de s’associer avec la société S2B qui a développé le concept Visioplaine, plateforme Internet permettant la saisie de données agronomiques et la gestion géographique des parcelles.

La forte complémentarité entre le site Visioplaine et les produits Farmstar va permettre de créer une nouvelle offre commune de services qui sera commercialisée à partir du second trimestre 2006.

Forts de leur expérience respective dans les domaines de la gestion de l’information et de la conduite des cultures par télédétection, S2B et Infoterra France/ARVALIS - Institut du végétal vont ainsi renforcer la performance des produits et services mis à la disposition des agriculteurs et de leurs partenaires économiques (distributeurs et collecteurs).

ARVALIS - Institut du végétal est un organisme de Recherche Appliquée Agricole

Améliorer la qualité des productions, ouvrir des débouchés, étudier et limiter l’impact des pratiques agricoles sur l’environnement, améliorer la rentabilité des productions, satisfaire les besoins des agriculteurs, des consommateurs et des citoyens sont les objectifs de ARVALIS - Institut du végétal. Engagé dans la recherche appliquée pour les filières céréales à paille, maïs, protéagineux, pommes de terre et fourrages, l’institut conduit des études sur l’agronomie, l’économie, la connaissance du végétal, les biotechnologies, la conduite et la protection des cultures, l’agriculture de précision, la récolte et le stockage, la qualité et les débouchés des produits …et assure la diffusion de l’information.

Infoterra France est une filiale à 100% d’ EADS Astrium spécialisée dans le développement d’applications et de services à partir d’images de télédétection. Elle a en charge le développement et la commercialisation du service FARMSTAR

EADS Astrium est le leader européen dans le domaine des satellites. Ses activités englobent les systèmes complets civils et militaires de télécommunications et d’observation, des programmes scientifiques et de navigation, ainsi que toute l’avionique et équipement des vaisseaux spatiaux. EADS Astrium est une filiale d’EADS SPACE.

EADS SPACE filiale d’EADS, spécialisée dans les systèmes spatiaux civils et militaires, a réalisé en 2004 un chiffre d’affaires de 2,6 milliards d’euros avec 11.000 employés en France, en Allemagne, au Royaume-Uni et en Espagne. EADS est un leader mondial de l’aérospatial, de la défense et des services associés. En 2004, EADS a enregistré un chiffre d’affaires de 31,8 milliards d’euros avec un effectif de plus de 110.000 personnes.

Contact Presse :

EADS SPACE (FR), Rémi ROLAND +33 (0) 1 42 24 27 34

EADS SPACE (FR), Frédéric-Pierre ISOZ + 33 (0) 1 42 24 28 77

ARVALIS - Institut du végétal, Xavier GAUTIER + 33(0) 5 59 12 67 25

http://www.space.eads.net

www.arvalisinstitutduvegetal.fr

Meteosat Segunda Generación 2 – Predicción del tiempo con precisión sin precedentes gracias al instrumento SEVIRI

Primer congreso de los científicos que utilizarán los datos del satélite SMOS de la ESA que se construye en Madrid

: © EADS SPACE

24 de Noviembre de 2005 – Más de 70 Investigadores Principales de distintos puntos del mundo se reúnen en la ciudad de Ávila para el primer congreso de Validación y Extracción de datos del satélite SMOS. Este grupo de científicos presentará sus iniciativas dentro del programa SMOS, para el uso de los datos de humedad del suelo y salinidad de los océanos que este nuevo satélite de la Agencia Espacial Europea proveerá.

Esta misión europea nació del esfuerzo conjunto de científicos españoles y franceses de los institutos SCIC y CESBIO respectivamente hace ya unos cuanto años, y que la Agencia Espacial Europea adoptó para ser su segunda misión de oportunidad para su programa “Planeta Vivo” de Exploración de la Tierra. Desde entonces, ha suscitado el interés de más de 45 institutos, agencias y universidades de 17 países del mundo.

EADS Astrium España es la compañía que elaboró la descripción técnica capaz de materializar los requerimientos especificados del instrumento que empezará a suministrar datos desde finales de 2007. El instrumento de la misión es un radiómetro de microondas con apertura sintética que medirá la humedad del suelo y la salinidad de los océanos, dos parámetros de interés científico fundamentales para entender el ciclo del agua de nuestro planeta. Con ellos, se podrían construir los modelos de predicción atmosférica, oceanográfica e hidrológica de la Tierra. En su calidad de Contratista Principal, EADS Astrium España lidera un grupo de empresas de hasta once países europeos. Es la primera vez que España lidera un proyecto de tal envergadura técnica y de gestión para la ESA.

Los participantes tuvieron la oportunidad de visitar las instalaciones del Centro de Barajas en Madrid, donde se está integrando el modelo de vuelo de este instrumento, antes de ir a Ávila. El modelo de ingeniería, construido antes del verano, ha pasado con éxito todas las pruebas y ensayos de calificación en las instalaciones de la ESA en Holanda. El próximo año, el modelo de vuelo que ahora se construye en Madrid, será integrado en la plataforma Proteus francesa y será nuevamente sometido a pruebas con el satélite completo. El lanzamiento del satélite SMOS está previsto para Marzo de 2007 en un lanzador Rockot.

Contacto de Prensa:

Francisco Lechón (España) +34-91-586-3741

http://www.eads.net

EADS Astrium selected for Swarm Satellites

Three satellites to investigate the geomagnetic field
Precise 'views' inside the Earth
Launch of satellite constellation planned for 2010

Friedrichshafen, November 17, 2005 – EADS Astrium has been selected by the European Space Agency (ESA) to develop and build three satellites for the Swarm mission. The satellites, worth approximately €86 million, will be manufactured within 48 months.

The Swarm mission will provide the most detailed data yet on the geomagnetic field and its temporal evolution, giving new insights into improving our knowledge of the Earth's interior and climate. The three Swarm spacecraft are scheduled for launch in 2010.

The Swarm constellation will comprise three satellites in three different polar orbits - two flying side by side at an altitude of 450 km and a third at an altitude of 530 km. High-precision and high-resolution measurements of the strength, direction and variations of the Earth's magnetic field, complemented by precise navigation, accelerometer and electric field measurements, will provide valuable data essential for modelling the geomagnetic field. The results will offer a unique view from space inside the Earth, and enable the composition and processes of the interior to be studied in detail.

This mission will also enable analysis of the Sun's influence on the Earth. In addition, it is expected that Swarm will have practical benefits including better forecasting of radiation hazards in space, and improved navigation and exploration for new resources on Earth.

"We are very proud that ESA has placed its confidence in us for this mission. EADS Astrium, in particular at Friedrichshafen, has a long and successful track record in designing and developing magnetically clean systems, and in the UK at Stevenage has an equally impressive record in producing satellite structures and propulsion systems." said Dr. Reinhold Lutz, EADS Astrium's Vice President for Earth Observation, Navigation and Science.

EADS Astrium will set up a German-UK team for Swarm. The Friedrichshafen site will be prime contractor for the project, prepare the electrical design of the satellites, procure the instruments and finally assume overall responsibility for the satellites. EADS Astrium UK will be responsible for the propulsion system, structure, mechanical and thermal development, mechanisms (including the deployable boom with the key scientific instruments) and pre-integration of the satellites. Most of the work will be carried out in Stevenage with some specialist skills coming from the Portsmouth site.

As early as in the late seventies, the Friedrichshafen-based Astrium developed ISEE-B, a satellite for magnetic field research in far-Earth space. Advances continued with the four-satellite Cluster formation operating in space since 2000, the year which also saw the launch of the low Earth orbit Champ satellite, developed according to an Astrium design.

From a technical point of view, Champ and Cryosat are direct predecessors of Swarm. EADS Astrium has therefore been able to build on the proven technology of these projects for system design, specific sub-systems as well as test facilities and procedures.

Swarm is the next logical step in magnetic field research taking over from the Champ mission which is due to finish at the end of 2008.

EADS Astrium is Europe’s leading satellite system specialist. Its activities cover complete civil and military telecommunications and Earth observation systems, science and navigation programmes, and all spacecraft avionics and equipment.

EADS Astrium is a wholly owned subsidiary of EADS SPACE, which is dedicated to providing civil and defence space systems. In 2004 EADS SPACE had a turnover of €2.6 billion and 11,000 employees in France, Germany, the United Kingdom and Spain. EADS is a global leader in aerospace, defence and related services. In 2004, EADS generated revenues of €31.8 billion and employed a workforce of more than 110,000.

Contacts for the media:

Remi Roland, EADS SPACE (FR) +33 (0) 1 42 24 27 34

Jeremy Close, EADS SPACE (UK) +44 (0) 1438 77 38 72

Mathias Pikelj, EADS SPACE (GER) +49 (0) 7545 8 9123

http://www.space.eads.net

CryoSat – The 'icy' mission starts to heat up

ASTRIUM OPTICAL AND RADAR INSTRUMENTS SERVING METEOROLOGY FOR 30 YEARS

: Kourou – The “eye“ of the joint European Space Agency/EUMETSAT Meteosat Second Generation (MSG) satellite, the Seviri (Spinning Enhanced Visible and Infrared Imager) instrument, , will provide weather data of unprecedented precision to European meteorologists. Seviri is the latest in a long line of state-of-the-art meteorological instruments developed and built by Astrium, Europe’s leading space company. Following postponement of the launch last night, the spacecraft is now due for launch from Kourou, French Guiana, at about 22:30 tonight, Wednesday 28th August 2002.

For 25 years, the images of European Meteosat weather satellites have been broadcast daily in the television news of many countries. From 1977 to 1997, a total of seven European weather satellites were launched into geostationary orbit, all with Astrium technology on board.

Every 15 minutes, Seviri will transmit a satellite image to Earth – twice as often as the previous model on board the first Meteosat generation. Furthermore, the images from the new instrument will be more detailed: On the one hand, Seviri has a considerably enhanced resolution of 1km compared to its predecessor and, on the other, the instrument scans the Earth in twelve – instead of three – spectral channels. These twelve different channels, in the Infrared and Visible spectrum, allow comprehensive observation of various parameters, such as the temperatures of clouds, land and sea surfaces, as well as the composition of air masses in the atmosphere. “Nowcasting“, the short-term weather forecast, will primarily benefit from these new capabilities. Thus, in the near future, more precise forecasting of extreme and dangerous weather phenomena, such as thunderstorms or heavy rainfall will be possible.

This year, other Astrium-built instruments, AMSU-B and HSB were launched on board U.S. weather satellites. AMSU-B, the Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit, was launched on June 24 on board NOAA-M. This instrument mainly provides images of cloud cover and precipitation cells for short-term weather forecasts, as well as information on water vapour in cloudy areas, which is needed for medium-term forecast models.

Since May 4, the Humidity Sounder for Brazil (HSB) has been orbiting the Earth on board NASA’s Aqua spacecraft. This instrument measures the vertical distribution of water vapour in the atmosphere, a parameter having a direct influence on atmospheric stability.

The success story of Astrium-built meteorological instruments will continue on into the future: Two further satellites of the MSG fleet, both equipped with Seviri instruments, will also provide highly detailed weather data from geostationary orbit. As of 2005, Europe will also have its own system of polar- orbiting weather satellites. These satellites, under the name of Metop, will measure meteorological parameters with high precision at low altitude. In particular, medium and long-term weather forecasts and climate research will benefit from the Metop data. The three identical Metop satellites, due for launch at five-year intervals, will carry Astrium-built measuring instruments Ascat and MHS .

The Advanced Scatterometer (Ascat) is a radar instrument which measures the speed and direction of wind over the open sea. Ascat will also help to monitor the distribution of snow and ice on land and on sea surfaces.

The Microwave Humidity Sounder (MHS) is a microwave sensor for measuring the atmospheric humidity profiles, cloud and precipitation parameters.

By 2007, one of the last gaps in global weather and climate research will be filled by ESA’s Aeolus spacecraft. In July of this year, ESA, as the prime contractor, approved the Aeolus mission with Astrium as the proposed contractor for the initial programme. The Aladin (Atmospheric Laser Doppler Instrument) instrument on board Aeolus will measure wind strengths and directions with unprecedented precision y sending short harmless laser pulses into the atmosphere and analysing the laser light returned by the atmospheric cells.

ASTRIUM SELECTED FOR AEOLUS

: On 27th June, the ESA Industrial Policy Committee unanimously approved the Aeolus mission with Astrium as the proposed contractor for the initial programme. The Aeolus spacecraft, with a mass of about 1 tonne and an expected lifetime of 3 years, is scheduled for launch in October 2007.

Aeolus, named after the mortal appointed by the Greek gods to be keeper of winds, is ESA’s second Earth Explorer Core mission. Aeolus will carry only one instrument, the Atmospheric Laser Doppler Lidar Instrument (ALADIN), which will provide global observations of wind with a vertical resolution that will satisfy the requirements of the World Meteorological Association in both climate research and operational weather forecasting. At present, accurate global wind profiles are not available and are therefore a major deficiency in the Global Observing System.

Aeolus will be placed in a Sun-synchronous orbit at an altitude of 400 km, enabling it to collect information from anywhere on the planet. The Aladin lidar (laser detection and radar) instrument will create a wind profile showing the relative strength and direction of winds at different altitudes.

Astrium has already been awarded the pre-development contract for ALADIN. Development of the instrument will continue and the integrated pre-development model is scheduled for delivery in the Autumn of 2003.

ALADIN will be the first spaceborne wind lidar offering global coverage. Measurements are taken every 0.1 second and then averaged over 7-second periods (during which time the satellite will have travelled 50km) to obtain wind profiles for altitudes from 0 to 30 kilometers.

The ALADIN instrument is based on the Direct Detection Doppler Wind Lidar concept, which operates in the near UV band (355 nanometres) and uses a telescope for both emission and reception. It is an active instrument which fires laser pulses towards the atmosphere and measures the Doppler shift of the return signal, backscattered at different levels in the atmosphere. It combines a fringe-imaging receiver (analyzing aerosol and cloud backscatter) and a double-edge receiver (analyzing molecular backscatter) in a single instrument. The two scattering mechanisms have different spectral properties and wavelength dependencies.

The Aeolus core team is led by Astrium Ltd as prime contractor and includes Astrium SAS with prime responsibility for the ALADIN instrument. Astrium GmBh is responsible for the platform electrical architecture and subsystems while SAAB Ericson Space AB supplies the spacecraft computer.

Spot

Imágenes de satélite para soluciones globales: © EADS Astrium / D.Apikian

La serie de plataformas multimisión Spot de Astrium, desarrollada en principio para el CNES, la agencia espacial francesa, se utiliza ahora para un total de quince satélites de observación de la Tierra en órbita baja, incluidos los satélites militares de reconocimiento Helios, los satélites de radar ERS, la Plataforma Polar Envisat y el ingenio espacial en órbita polar Metop.

Cuatro satélites Spot, fabricados por Astrium como contratista general, prestan servicio operacional en la actualidad y permiten la observación diaria de, prácticamente, cualquier punto del globo terráqueo con una resolución de diez metros. El Spot 5 (lanzado en 2002) transmite imágenes con una resolución de 2.5 metros en una franja muy amplia. Astrium es responsable de la plataforma y del sistema de generación de imágenes de alta resolución de todos los satélites Spot.

Además, Astrium ha financiado, conjuntamente con el CNES y Spot Image, el instrumento estereoscópico de alta resolución HRS que transporta el Spot 5. El HRS genera maquetas digitales en relieve para aplicaciones de cartografía tridimensional.

Astrium tiene una participación del 81% en Spot Image, la empresa que ofrece servicios de imágenes de satélite.

GOCE

Explorar el campo de gravitación de la Tierra: © ESA

La misión Gravity Field and Steady-State Ocean Circulation Explorer (GOCE) es la primera de las misiones de exploración de la Tierra de la Agencia Espacial Europea dentro del proyecto Living Planet (conjunto de observaciones de la Tierra).

Con ella se completarán las misiones ya existentes Champ y Grace. El objetivo de la GOCE es elaborar modelos del campo de gravitación de la Tierra y de su superficie equipotencial de referencia a escala global, con alta resolución espacial y gran precisión. Esto ayudará a comprender mejor no sólo la estructura del interior de la Tierra y los procesos sísmicos, sino también aspectos tales como la circulación en los océanos, la topografía y la evolución de las capas de hielo y, con ello, los cambios globales del nivel de los mares. El satélite GOCE fue lanzado a bordo de un cohete Rockot desde el cosmódromo de Plesetsk, en el norte de Rusia, el 17 de marzo de 2009.

Astrium es miembro del grupo principal de socios del proyecto seleccionados por la ESA, que dirige el contratista principal Thales Alenia Space, siendo también responsable del desarrollo de la plataforma.

Más información

Pleïades

La generación siguiente de satélites de observación: © CNES

Pleïades es un programa del CNES (agencia espacial francesa) diseñado para continuar la serie de gran éxito de los satélites Spot de órbita baja (LEO) y multimisión, que prestan servicio ininterrumpido desde 1986. Su plataforma se utiliza en la actualidad para casi todos los programas europeos de observación de la Tierra en órbita baja (sobre todo, ERS, Envisat, MetOp y Helios). La constelación del Pleïades, que se basará en satélites menores, más económicos y ágiles, se desarrolla como componente óptico del programa doble Orfeo para el que el sistema italiano Skymed aportará el radar. Los objetivos principales del programa se centran en la innovación tecnológica, el aumento de la capacidad de doble uso, así como en lograr una colaboración europea más estrecha. El primer lanzamiento del Pleïades (una pareja de satélites de observación con resolución submétrica) se ha previsto para 2010. El segundo tendrá lugar un año más tarde.

Astrium es el contratista principal del bus de los satélites, incluidos el gobierno y la vigilancia del satélite, así como el tratamiento y la transmisión de los datos de la carga útil. Además, es responsable del desarrollo del software y de validar el satélite.

Aeolus vigila el viento

: © ESA / EADS Astrium

La misión Atmospheric Dynamics Mission (ADM-Aeolus) de la ESA para exploración de la Tierra, cuyo comienzo se prevé para 2009, tiene como objeto suministrar datos de observación global tridimensional de zonas de viento. Con ellas se perfeccionarán las curvas actuales de los vientos y con ello las técnicas de elaboración de maquetas de la atmósferay de análisis. Esto irá en beneficio de la prevision del tiempo y de la investigación climática.

ADM-Aeolus captará los datos a través del método activo Doppler Wind Lidar (DWL). Es un instrumento activo que emite impulsos de láser a la atmósfera y mide el efecto Doppler de la señal de retorno procedente de sus diferentes capas. Así se elabora un perfil tanto de la intensidad y dirección relativas del viento a diferentes alturas como del contenido de humedad y de partículas de la atmósfera.

Aeolus transporta el instrumento Aladin (Atmospheric LAser Doppler INstrument), un lídar de detección directa dotado de un receptor de imágenes marginales (para análisis de aerosoles y de los reflejos de las nubes) y un receptor de doble filo (para análisis de reflejos moleculares). La misión se llama así en recuerdo del mortal a quien los dioses de la mitología griega hicieron guardián de los vientos.

Astrium es el contratista principal de la misión y también responsable del instrumento Aladin del ADM-Aeolus, así como de la estructura eléctrica de la plataforma y de los subsistemas.

CryoSat

Un satélite en misión glacial: © EADS Astrium

El satélite CryoSat de vigilancia del medio ambiente y del clima es el primero de las misiones ad hoc de exploración de la Tierra (Earth Explorer Opportunity Missions) dentro del programa Planeta Vivo de la Agencia Espacial Europea, creado en 1998. Este programa científico, cuyo objetivo es aportar datos críticos referentes a candentes cuestiones científicas del medio ambiente, abarca misiones núcleo en las que estarán involucrados satélites de observación de la Tierra relativamente complejos e innovadores, así como misiones específicas con tecnologías ya avanzadas que permitirán integrarlos más rápidamente.

Una misión de radar altímetro de observación de las regiones polares, CryoSat, servirá para estudiar las posibles variaciones y tendencias del clima midiendo los cambios de espesor en las capas de hielo terrestres y en los hielos de los océanos polares (lo que repercute de forma importante en el clima global). La duración será de tres años, como mínimo y con una precisión sin precedentes, proporcionando a los científicos datos de estas regiones deshabitadas, inéditos hasta ahora.

Tras un funcionamiento defectuoso en el lanzamiento que se tradujo desafortunadamente en la pérdida total del satélite inicial CryoSat en el otoño de 2005, la ESA decidió reconstruir el satélite. El lanzamiento del CryoSat-2 está previsto para el año 2009.

Al igual que para el satélite CryoSat original, Astrium es el contratista principal de la ESA en el programa Cryosat-2 y, además, responsable de la plataforma del satélite y de la integración de todos los instrumentos.

Envisat

El policía ecológico de Europa vigila el Espacio: © ESA

En febrero de 2002, un Ariane 5 puso en órbita polar, a 800 km de altura, el Envisat (ENvironmental SATellite), el mayor y más complejo satélite de observación de la Tierra. El satélite de la Agencia Espacial Europea (ESA) ayuda a los científicos a entender mejor los efectos causados por el calentamiento global y por el Niño, los cambios del clima terrestre, la disminución de la capa de ozono, así como la variación del nivel de los océanos, de los casquetes polares, de la vegetación y de la composición de la atmósfera.

Más de diez años y la participación de cien empresas de 14 países han sido necesarios para desarrollar y fabricar este satélite de 8.200 kg. En el programa han tomado parte las sedes de Astrium del Reino Unido, Alemania y Francia. Astrium del Reino Unido es el contratista principal de la Plataforma Polar y de dos de los instrumentos más importantes; Astrium de Alemania es contratista y responsable general de todos los instrumentos, así como del pañol de carga útil y de dos instrumentos; Astrium de Francia, por su parte, suministra el módulo de servicio y otros instrumentos.

ERS

Observación de la Tierra de día y de noche: El primer satélite europeo de observación de la Tierra, el ERS-1, giró en órbita de julio de 1991 a marzo de 2000. Con ello, su vida útil se prolongó tres veces más de lo previsto. Su sucesor, el ERS-2, fue lanzado en 1995. El ingenio permanece en excelentes condiciones, aunque también ha rebasado ya su vida útil nominal.

Astrium, que ha sido el contratista principal en ambos programas, entregó la plataforma y una gran parte de los instrumentos principales. Entre ellos un radar activo de microondas (AMI) en el que se combina un radar de apertura sintética (SAR) y un escaterómetro destinado a medir la velocidad y la dirección de los vientos. Los satélites de radar, al contrario de los basados en tecnologías de observación óptica, captan imágenes de la Tierra en todas las condiciones meteorológicas, así como de día y de noche.

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