On 27th January, EUMETSAT signed a cooperation deal with the European Space Agency (ESA) to put EPS-Sterna into action. Previously, only being approved, EUMETSAT’s microsatellite constellation can move on to the development phase. Implementation of EPS-Sterna will start to form Europe’s weather and climate monitoring small satellite constellation in the coming years.
According to the agreement, EUMETSAT will fund the programme and operate the constelation once deployed around 2029. Sterna’s goal is to aid satellites in the EUMETSAT Polar System by getting more frequent observations of the atmosphere’s temperature and humidity. This collaboration will improve weather forecasts and early warnings for extreme events by 6% over the mid-latitudes of Europe and 9% over the Arctic regions.
This signature turns thirty national commitments into concrete action,” said Phil Evans, Director-General of EUMETSAT. “EPS-Sterna can now move at full speed from planning to hardware, thanks to the strong partnership between EUMETSAT and ESA and the confidence shown by our Member States.”
ESA will manage the source and purchasing of satellites, acting as a purchasing manager, while EUMESTAT manages launches, operates the constellation, develops the ground systems and delivers data to weather services.
The EUMETSAT Polar System – Sterna (EPS-Sterna)
EPS-Sterna is a constellation of microsatellites that will each carry a state-of-the-art microwave sounder. The initial constellation will contain six satellites in sun-synchronous polar orbits. In only five hours or less, the microwave sounders on these satellites will make observations covering 90% of the globe.
The microwave sounder will measure energy reflected off the Earth’s surface in the microwave range of frequencies. Because it makes measurements beyond the visible range, it can provide temperature and humidity observations even when it is overcast, raining, or snowing.
Sterna will complement the observations from satellites in the EUMETSAT Polar System such as: Second Generation (EPS-SG), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS), and the Chinese FengYun-3 (FY-3) system.
Published by Sviatoslav Kryvenko
Sviatoslav writes for Orbital Today with a specialization in drones. He got his first drone for his ninth birthday and has been following their development and use cases ever since. If he isn’t writing or working with his own quadcopter, he’s playing with his Doberman or playing chess, Risk, and other board games.