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The MetOp Second Generation-B1 satellite has entered its third and most delicate round of pre-launch testing, marking another step towards strengthening Europe\u2019s weather forecasting capabilities.<\/p>\n
Engineers are now putting the satellite through rigorous electromagnetic compatibility tests to ensure that its many electronic systems can operate without interfering with one another once this new weather satellite is in orbit around Earth next year.<\/p>\n
The MetOp Second Generation mission relies on a duo of complementary satellites flying in polar orbit.<\/p>\n
The first, MetOp-SG-A1, was launched just over three months ago, and engineers are now preparing its partner, MetOp-SG-B1, to join it next year. The two satellites are equipped with complementary suites of instruments \u2013 11 instruments between them \u2013 to provide high-resolution measurements of temperature, precipitation, clouds, winds, and other key atmospheric and environmental variables.<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMetOp Second Generation satellite pair<\/a><\/p>\n As one of the most advanced atmospheric monitoring systems ever deployed, the MetOp-SG mission, which comprises three successive pairs of satellites, will supply meteorologists with the global data essential for predicting storms, tracking climate trends, and improving the accuracy of everyday weather forecasts for more than two decades.<\/p>\n The MetOp-SG B-type satellites carry five instruments: a scatterometer, to provide ocean-surface wind vectors and land-surface soil moisture, a radio occultation sounder (which is also on the A-type satellites) to provide atmospheric temperature and humidity profiles, as well as information about the ionosphere, a microwave imager to monitor precipitation and to assess sea-ice extent, an ice cloud imager to measure cloud-ice water, and an Argos-4 advanced data collection system which gathers and transmits data from surface, buoy, ship, balloon and airborne platforms.<\/p>\n Alongside with these all-important instruments, the satellite also carries the usual array of onboard computers, power systems, and high-rate transmitters operating in S-, X-, and Ka-bands to stream down the massive volumes of data the satellite collects.<\/p>\n Each of these systems has been tested independently, but they must ultimately function side by side without interfering with one another. This is where the electromagnetic compatibility tests come in.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\tWorking on MetOp Second Generation-B1\u2019s scatterometer<\/a><\/p>\n To perform these tests, engineers at Airbus\u2019 facilities in Toulouse, France, have placed MetOp-SG-B1 inside a cavernous anechoic chamber \u2013 a kind of artificial electromagnetic void.<\/p>\n The room is lined with the striking blue pyramidal foam absorbers. The entire chamber is shielded like a Faraday cage, blocking outside signals while preventing internal reflections. Inside this silent environment, the satellite is subjected to a series of rigorous trials.<\/p>\n The first phase, called launcher compatibility, ensures that the satellite won\u2019t emit signals that could disrupt the Ariane 6 rocket \u2013 and that it can withstand the electromagnetic environment generated during the launch.<\/p>\n