In the coming weeks, ESA will launch its EarthCARE spacecraft on a Falcon 9 and its Hera asteroid mission this fall on another Falcon 9.
Another pair of Galileo satellites will launch on a Falcon 9 later in 2024, alongside separate Falcon 9 launches of ESA’s EarthCARE Earth science mission and Hera asteroid mission.
The team purged nitrogen from the transport container to keep EarthCARE's instruments in perfect condition.
EarthCARE has been carefully removed from its transport container.
Dirk Bernaerts is ESA’s EarthCARE Project Manager.
EarthCARE spent over a month in a transport container, during which its temperature and pressure were carefully monitored.
The first task on the launch campaign to-do list was to charge the batteries of EarthCARE.
A NASA building near the SpaceX launch site in Vandenberg, California, housed EarthCARE during its storage period.
EarthCARE weighs over 2000 kg and consists of very sensitive equipment.
ESA’s EarthCARE launch campaign manager is Bill Simpson.
The Earth Cloud Aerosol, and Radiation Explorer (EarthCARE) carries a set of four state-of-the-art instruments to provide insights into Earth's radiation balance.
EarthCARE orbits approximately 400 kilometers above Earth.
EarthCARE has four cutting-edge instruments to analyze clouds and aerosols.
EarthCARE is the most complex of ESA’s Earth Explorer satellites.
EarthCARE is wrapped in a special white cloth instead of classic gold multi-layer insulation to withstand atomic oxygen.
EarthCARE is set to launch in a few weeks.
EarthCARE will collect data on clouds and aerosols to improve climate predictions and numerical models.
The EarthCARE satellite was developed by Airbus for the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA).
The laser on EarthCARE consists of many components that must be positioned precisely for its operation.
EarthCARE will operate in a Sun-synchronous 400 km polar orbit crossing the equator in the early afternoon to optimize daylight conditions.