The European Space Agency (ESA) is Europe’s gateway to space. Its mission is to shape the development of Europe’s space capability and ensure that investment in space continues to deliver benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world.
Find out more about space activities in our 23 Member States, and understand how ESA works together with their national agencies, institutions and organisations.
Exploring our Solar System and unlocking the secrets of the Universe
Go to topicProtecting life and infrastructure on Earth and in orbit
Go to topicUsing space to benefit citizens and meet future challenges on Earth
Go to topicMaking space accessible and developing the technologies for the future
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A few days after ESA’s Earth Explorer Biomass satellite has been launched and after its very first health checks in orbit have been done, a series of complex manoeuvres are carried out to deploy its 12-metre diameter mesh reflector, which is supported by a boom, which is 7.5 metres long.
The deployment of the boom is carried out in three carefully planned separate stages, each of which takes about seven minutes. However, only one step is carried out per day and during selected passes that offer maximum coverage from the ground stations. This ensures that each step of the boom deployment is full ‘visible’ to the satellite operators.
Once the boom is fully extended above the satellite, another step opens up the fine wire mesh antenna, like an umbrella. This takes around 20 minutes and is a critical phase that has to be carried out during a pass that offers 50% visibility of the deployment process to the ground stations.
The reflector transmits the Biomass P-band radar’s footprint onto Earth’s surface and receives the returned signal, which carries information about the carbon content of forests.