Contract secures construct for ESA’s Concord mission

The contract was signed right this moment by Simonetta Cheli, ESA Director of Earth Observations Programmes, and by Rüdiger Schönfeld, Board Member at OHB System AG, on the Worldwide Astronautical Congress, which is going down in Milan.

Simonetta Cheli stated, “We’re thrilled to award the economic contract, price over €280 million, to OHB System AG as prime contractor for the 2 Concord satellites.

“This thrilling new mission includes two similar satellites, every of which carry a receive-only artificial aperture radar and a multiview thermal-infrared instrument. They are going to orbit Earth in convoy with a Copernicus Sentinel-1 satellite tv for pc to yield new info to reply vital questions on Earth system processes.

“By offering a various array of high-resolution measurements of movement occurring at or close to Earth’s floor, we absolutely count on Concord to construct on the success of our different Earth Explorer missions. These missions have made vital contributions gaps in our information of how Earth works. And now, Concord is poised to additional improve our understanding of by delivering worthwhile knowledge that can profit Earth system science and local weather analysis.”

Rüdiger Schönfeld added, “We thank ESA for his or her belief in growing this advanced mission and now look ahead to getting underway with the construct. As our subcontractors for Concord, Thales Alenia Area in Italy is chargeable for the artificial aperture radar and ABB in Canada is chargeable for the thermal-infrared imager.

“With the contract now signed, it’s full steam forward for Concord, which needs to be constructed throughout the subsequent 5 years to ensure that the satellites to fulfill their rendezvous with a Copernicus Sentinel-1 satellite tv for pc.”

Florence Hélière, Concord Undertaking Supervisor, added, “The experience and dedication of our industrial companions are invaluable belongings for the Concord mission, serving to us obtain our rendezvous with Sentinel-1 and to advance our scientific understanding of the Earth system.”

The 2 Concord satellites will orbit Earth in tandem with a Copernicus Sentinel-1 satellite tv for pc, the configuration of which modifications over the course of Concord’s life in orbit.

Within the numerous configurations, the Concord satellites’ artificial aperture radar devices obtain the Sentinel-1 radar indicators that bounce again, or ‘backscatter’, from Earth’s floor. On the identical time, Concord’s thermal-infrared devices present complementary observations of the ocean floor in addition to the place and movement of clouds above it.

This method will present a wealth of distinctive knowledge on ocean–ice–environment interactions at unprecedented decision for extra perception into upper-ocean warmth exchanges, drivers of utmost climate corresponding to hurricanes and the long-term impacts of local weather change.

It’s going to additionally present knowledge on surface-wind stress, floor currents, ocean waves and sea-surface temperature at completely different scales. That is achieved by observing the ocean floor concurrently from completely different instructions with the satellites’ collocated radar and thermal imaging methods.

Over land, Concord will present info to estimate small shifts within the form of the land floor, corresponding to these resulting in and ensuing from earthquakes and volcanic exercise, thereby contributing to the evaluation of geohazards over geologically energetic areas.

The mission may even present new info to check 3D deformation and circulate dynamics of glaciers on the quickly altering marginal zones of the ice sheets for a greater understanding of how ice being misplaced from glaciers is affecting sea-level rise.