Weather forecasting twice as accurate thanks to the SEVIRI imager
Amsterdam, le 22 juillet 2002
ASTRIUM is responsible for supplying the SEVIRI (Spinning Enhanced Visible and Infra Red Imager) Imager for the METEOSAT Second Generation (MSG) programme. The 3 satellites in this joint European Space Agency/EUMETSAT programme are due to enter service between 2002 and 2012.
In addition to SEVIRI, the most important measuring instrument on board MSG, Astrium has delivered the subsystems for power supply, attitude and orbit control and propulsion. The first satellite of this new generation has been completed and is due to be launched in August 2002.
On the ground, Astrium is providing the Image Processing Facility (IMPF) which is the link between the instrument in space and the end user. The contract for IMPF software included the design, code development, test and installation onto hardware platforms procured by Astrium and installed in EUMETSAT's ground station in Darmstadt, Germany. Astrium is also responsible for the provision of training courses for EUMETSAT engineers and warranty support for the software for two years after acceptance.
The Meteosat Second Generation fleet consists of three satellites: MSG 2 will be launched in 2004 and MSG-3 will follow five years later or as required. The contract for development of the 3 instruments, worth 200 million Euros, was signed in August 1997.
Astrium has drawn on advanced technological developments and the specific experience of the first METEOSAT satellites to create an instrument which will significantly enhance weather forecasting and the understanding of the Earth's atmosphere: SEVIRI will be able to produce an image of the Earth every 15 minutes, instead of the 30 minutes needed at present. It offers a geometric resolution 2 times better and provides data in 12, instead of 3, different wavelengths within the visible-to-infra-red spectrum.
Data provided will be used in mathematical weather forecasting models and in atmospheric and environmental research. This will enable all the necessary parameters to understand our environment to be seen: the temperature of the surface and atmosphere, atmospheric water vapour content, cloud formations, storms, hurricanes, heavy rain and fog.
Technical characteristics of the SEVERI Radiometer :
| MISSION | MSG-SEVIRI | METEOSAT |
| Imaging Cycle | 15 min | 30 min |
| Visible Channels: 0.4 - 1.6 µm | 4 HRV | 1 (broadband) |
| Water Vapour Channels | 2 | 1 (WV 6.4µ) |
| IR Channels 3.9 - 13.4 µm | 8 | 1 |
| Resolution - visible | 1 km (HRV) | 2,25 km (Visible) |
| IR and water Vapour | 3 km | 5 km (IR+WV) |
| Number of detectors | 42 | 5 |
| IMAGING INSTRUMENT | MSG-SEVIRI | METEOSAT |
| Mass | 260 kg | 65 kg |
| Power | 150 W | 17 W |
| Height | 2,43 m | 1,35 m |
| Diameter | 1.5 m | 0,72 m |
| Data rates | 3.26 Mbit /s |
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Technically, SEVIRI is a light-weight and compact telescope and scan assembly. The scan assembly itself consists of an additional movable mirror which is positioned in front of the telescope; it performs a linear scan of the Earth's surface from south to north. The telescope sends the collected radiation to the focal plane where it is divided into twelve different channels of the electromagnetic spectrum and transferred to 42 sensors. The sensors transmit the recorded data to the Functional Control Unit (FCO), the interface to the data transmission system of the MSG satellite. Thus, a new multispectral satellite image will be produced every 15 minutes.
The compact structure of the telescope and the scan assembly enables the use of a large passive cooler which improves the performance of the infrared measuring systems by lowering their operating temperature up to. -188° Celsius. The total weight of the SEVIRI telescope will not exceed 260 kilograms and its power consumption amounts to approx. 150 watts.
ASTRIUM is a joint venture owned 75% by EADS, European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company and 25% by BAE SYSTEMS. In 2001 Astrium had a turnover of 1.9 billion Euros with 8,400 employees in France, Germany, United Kingdom and Spain. Astrium is currently refocusing on its satellite business activities covering civil and military telecommunications and Earth observation, science and navigation programmes, avionics and equipments.
For more information, please contact :
ASTRIUM (FR)
Rémi ROLAND ++33 (0) 34 88 35 78
ASTRIUM (UK)
Alistair SCOTT ++44 (0) 1438 773698
ASTRIUM (GER)
Mathias PIKELJ ++49 (0) 7545 8 91 23
www.astrium-space.com
