EarthCARE
Artist's view of EarthCARE
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| Mission type | Earth observation |
|---|---|
| Operator | ESA/JAXA/NICT |
| Website | EarthCare on esa |
| Mission duration | 2 years (planned) |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Bus | AstroBus-L |
| Manufacturer | EADS Astrium |
| Launch mass | ~ 2,000 kilograms (4,400 lb) |
| Dimensions | 2.5 by 19 metres (8.2 ft × 62.3 ft) |
| Power | ~ 2500 watts |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | 2018 |
| Rocket | Soyuz ST-B/Fregat-MT (planned) |
| Launch site | Kourou ELS |
| Contractor |
Arianespace Starsem |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Geocentric |
| Regime | Sun-synchronous |
| Perigee | 393 kilometres (244 mi) |
| Apogee | 393 kilometres (244 mi) |
| Inclination | 97 degrees |
| Period | 92 minutes |
| Repeat interval | 25 days |
| Epoch | Planned |
| Transponders | |
| Band |
S Band (TT&C support) X Band (science data acquisition) |
| Bandwidth | 2 Mbit/s download (S Band) 150 Mbit/s download (X Band) 64kbit/s upload (S Band) |
| Instruments | |
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ATLID: ATmospheric LIDar CPR: Cloud Profiling Radar MSI: Multi-Spectral Imager BBR: BroadBand Radiometer |
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EarthCARE is a planned joint European/Japanese (ESA/JAXA/NICT) satellite, the sixth of ESA's Living Planet Programme. The main goal of the mission is the observation and characterization of clouds and aerosols as well as measuring the reflected solar radiation and the infrared radiation emitted from Earth's surface.
In May 2008 ESA signed a contract worth €263 million (£220 million/$360 million) with EADS subsidiary Astrium. As the prime contractor, Astrium is responsible for the satellite's design, development and integration. Design and construction began in early 2009 while launch is due for 2018. EarthCARE is an acronym standing for Earth Clouds, Aerosols and Radiation Explorer, and the aims of the mission are to improve understanding of the cloud, radiative and aerosol processes that affect the Earth's climate. As of January 2011, the total budget for the project is £500 million (€590 million/$810 million). A significant proportion of the project will be manufactured in the UK, the main structure of the spacecraft will be built by RUAG Space in Switzerland and subsequently completed in Astrium's Stevenage facility, while one of the instruments will be made in Sevenoaks by SSTL and another in Bristol, Somerset by SEA Group Ltd, now part of Thales Alenia Space UK. In September 2014 ESA and JAXA held a joined EarthCARE International Science Workshop. From 2014 to 2015 an ongoing integration of the instruments takes place. In 2015 launch was postponed to 2018 due to problems with Lidar development.
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