Astrium will now be involved as the prime contractor to develop and build the European Space Agency’s EarthCARE Earth observation (EO) satellite. Worth 263 million euros, the contract was signed in Berlin at the International Aerospace Exhibition. EarthCARE (Earth Clouds, Aerosols and Radiation Explorer) will focus on clouds, tiny particles in the atmosphere (aerosols) and their influence on atmospheric radiation. Among other things, EarthCARE will draw up vertical profiles of natural and man-made aerosols, register the distribution of water and ice and their transport by clouds, and investigate the interrelationships between clouds and precipitation and their effects on radiation. Profiles can then be derived revealing atmospheric heating and cooling by clouds from a combination of the measured aerosols and “cloud elements”. Weighing around 1.7 metric tons, the satellite is scheduled to lift off into space in September of 2013. EarthCARE will spend three years taking measurements from a polar orbit (97° inclination) at an altitude of about 400 kilometres.
Astrium Is Going To CARE A Great Deal
Astrium will now be involved as the prime contractor to develop and build the European Space Agency’s EarthCARE Earth observation (EO) satellite. Worth 263 million euros, the contract was signed in Berlin at the International Aerospace Exhibition. EarthCARE (Earth Clouds, Aerosols and Radiation Explorer) will focus on clouds, tiny particles in the atmosphere (aerosols) and their influence on atmospheric radiation. Among other things, EarthCARE will draw up vertical profiles of natural and man-made aerosols, register the distribution of water and ice and their transport by clouds, and investigate the interrelationships between clouds and precipitation and their effects on radiation. Profiles can then be derived revealing atmospheric heating and cooling by clouds from a combination of the measured aerosols and “cloud elements”. Weighing around 1.7 metric tons, the satellite is scheduled to lift off into space in September of 2013. EarthCARE will spend three years taking measurements from a polar orbit (97° inclination) at an altitude of about 400 kilometres.
