ADM-Aeolus

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ADM-Aeolus
Maquette satellite ADM Aeolus salon du Bourget 2015 DSC0055.jpg
A model of the satellite (2015)
Operator: European space agencyESA ESA
COSPAR-ID : 2018-066A
Mission dates
Dimensions: 1450 kg
Size: 4.6 × 1.9 × 2.0 m
Begin: August 22, 2018, 21:20 UTC
Starting place: CSG , ELV
Launcher: Vega VV-12
Flight duration: planned: 3 years
Status: in orbit
Orbit data
Rotation time : 90.8 min
Orbit inclination : 96.7 °
Apogee height :  328 km
Perigee height :  316 km

ADM-Aeolus ( English Atmospheric Dynamics Mission - Aeolus : Greek god of winds) is the name of an ESA satellite from the series of Earth Explorer Missions , a long-term ESA framework program for earth observation . It is the first satellite ever to carry a laser and a reflecting telescope as its payload, which is intended to record air currents over a large area according to the lidar principle.

Astrium was originally the prime contractor for the satellite including the ALADIN laser instrument . After the company was merged with Cassidian and Airbus Military to form Airbus Defense and Space with effect from January 1, 2014 , the new division continued the order.

Data

The Aeolus satellite was originally supposed to be launched in April 2011 with a Rockot launcher into a sun-synchronous orbit at an altitude of 400 km. In 2011, it was assumed that it would start in 2013. The start with a Vega was planned since 2014 . The start date was then set for August 22, 2018 21:20 UTC and the start was carried out successfully.

The satellite's payload consists of a lidar called ALADIN ( Atmospheric Laser Doppler Lidar Instrument ). It emits short light pulses in the near UV (355 nm), the backscattering of which is registered by a reflecting telescope 1.5 m in diameter. The transit times of the radiation reflected in the atmosphere and its Doppler shift provide information on the moisture distribution, flow and wind conditions in the atmosphere at different heights. The horizontal spatial resolution is better than 50 km.

At the start of the project, a budget of 300 million euros was earmarked, including around 200 million euros for the satellite. In 2015 the ESA stated the expected costs at 400 million euros. The reason given was unexpectedly high technical difficulties in the development of the laser systems.

As of 2018, a price of 481 million euros was stated.

commitment

While the satellite was delivering data of extraordinary quality after an adjustment phase, a weakness soon became apparent: the laser lost energy unexpectedly quickly. After switching to the second laser, the effect was no longer apparent, so there is hope for its longer use.

On September 2, 2019, Aeolus changed its orbit to avoid the Starlink test satellite No. 44. The latter had reduced its orbit so far that it would have collided with Aeolus with a probability of about 1: 1000. From a collision risk of 1: 10,000, ESA flies evasive maneuvers. SpaceX itself did not react to the risk of collision because the corresponding warning from the US Air Force did not reach those responsible because of a faulty business process at SpaceX.

Since May 12, 2020, the data collected by Aeolus has been made available to weather services and scientists, a maximum of three hours after the measurements were taken. The German Weather Service then announced on May 19, 2020 that it would use the Aeolus data with immediate effect in order to partially compensate for missing measurements by aircraft. However, the forecasts for the tropics and the southern hemisphere benefit most from the satellite. For example, on August 3, 2020, the National Weather Satellite Center of the Chinese Meteorological Service used the data collected by Aeolus on its sun-synchronized orbit between 09:40 and 09:55 UTC in combination with that of the geostationary weather satellite Fengyun-4A to deal with Typhoon Hagupit before it hit mainland China near Wenzhou eight hours later . As a result, 381,687 people from endangered areas had to seek shelters in Zhejiang Province .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b ESA earth observation satellite successfully launched. Futurezone, August 23, 2018, accessed on August 23, 2018 (German).
  2. ↑ path data by AEOLUS. N2YO, September 13, 2018, accessed on September 17, 2018 .
  3. ↑ Herbert J. Kramer: ADM-Aeolus. In: earth.esa.int. Retrieved on August 23, 2020 (English).
  4. ↑ Arianespace chosen by ESA to launch ADM-Aeolus (Atmospheric Dynamics Mission) satellite with Vega in 2017. In: arianespace.com. September 7, 2016, accessed on August 23, 2020 .
  5. ↑ Programs in Progress. In: ESA Bulletin 138, May 2009. ESA, pp. 50/51 , accessed on August 12, 2009 .
  6. ↑ ADM-Aeolus mission overview. ESA, accessed October 3, 2014 .
  7. ↑ Cost Schedule Woees on 2 Lidar Missions Push ESA To Change Contract Procedures , report at SpaceNews.com about cost overruns in the Aeolus project (accessed August 2016)
  8. ↑ Alexander Stirn: "Aeolus" satellite launched: The most expensive anemometer of all time . In: Spiegel Online . August 23, 2018 ( spiegel.de [accessed November 16, 2019]).
  9. ↑ esa: Second laser boosts Aeolus power. Retrieved August 9, 2019 (UK English).
  10. ↑ heise online: ESA wind satellite Aeolus: Laser quickly loses energy. Retrieved June 2, 2019 .
  11. ^ Jeff Hecht: Backup Laser to Revive Aeolus Wind-Sensing Satellite. June 27, 2019, accessed on July 13, 2019 .
  12. ↑ heise online: ESA wind satellite Aeolus: Better data thanks to changing the laser. Retrieved July 24, 2019 .
  13. ↑ Jonathan O'Callaghan: SpaceX Refused To Move A Starlink Satellite At Risk Of Collision With A European Satellite. In: Forbes . September 2, 2019, accessed September 2, 2019 .
  14. ↑ ESA spacecraft dodges potential collision with StarLink satellite. In: Spacenews. September 2, 2019, accessed September 3, 2019 .
  15. ^ Aeolus goes public. In: esa.int. May 12, 2020, accessed on August 23, 2020 .
  16. ↑ Weather and Climate - German Weather Service - Press - Satellite data help to alleviate the problem of missing aircraft measurements. Retrieved August 2, 2020 .
  17. ↑ Fewer planes: The weather forecasts are less accurate. Retrieved August 2, 2020 .
  18. ↑ Jonathan Amos: Weather forecasters start using space laser data . January 10, 2020 ( bbc.com [accessed January 14, 2020]).
  19. ↑ Martin Holland: ESA wind satellite Aeolus: data now basis for weather forecasts. In: heise.de. January 13, 2020, accessed August 22, 2020 .
  20. ↑ 张林: 我国 台风 监测 首次 应用 欧洲 风神 卫星 测 风 产品. In: news.sina.com.cn. August 21, 2020, accessed August 22, 2020 (Chinese).
  21. ↑ 金 梁 et al .: 浙江 提升 防 台风 应急 响应 至 II ​​级 全省 已 转移 38 万人. In: zj.zjol.com.cn. August 3, 2020, accessed August 22, 2020 (Chinese).