Packing up ESA’s Arctic Weather Satellite for shipment from OHB’s facilities in Sweden to the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California from where it will be launched this summer.

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 constellation of similar satellites in the future, 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