Arctic Weather Satellite team at the launch site

The photo shows the team who are preparing ESA’s Arctic Weather Satellite for liftoff from the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. Their tasks ensure the satellite is ‘flight-ready’ for integration into the upper stage of the Falcon-9 Transporter 11.

As its name suggests, the Arctic Weather Satellite is designed to show how a potential polar-orbiting constellation of satellites could provide data for very short-term weather forecasts and nowcasts for the Arctic and northern latitude nations, a region that lacks these kind of accurate forecasts. Importantly, the constellation would also contribute to more accurate weather forecasting around the world.