Preparing the Arctic Weather Satellite for shipment

With ESA’s Arctic Weather Satellite fully built and tested, the photograph shows engineers at OHB in Sweden preparing the satellite for its journey to the launch site in California.

This new satellite has been designed to show how it can improve weather forecasts in the Arctic – a region that currently lacks data for accurate short-term forecasts. It is equipped with a 19-channel cross-track scanning microwave to provide high-resolution humidity and temperature soundings of the atmosphere in all weather conditions. While weather forecasting for the Arctic region is the focus, data from the Arctic Weather Satellite, and potentially from a future constellation of similar satellites, will also be used to improve weather forecasts around the world and contribute to climate change research.

Read full story: Preparing ESA’s Arctic Weather Satellite for liftoff