OIP to deliver Thermal Infrared Telescopes for ESA Harmony mission
OIP has been selected by ABB in Canada to develop and build the thermal infrared (TIR) payload telescopes for the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Harmony satellites. The Harmony mission is part of the ESA Earth Explorer program dedicated to demonstrating breakthrough Earth Observation technology for the advancement of Earth science.
The two satellites will orbit the Earth in tandem with a Copernicus Sentinel-1 satellite, the configuration of which will change over the course of Harmony’s life in orbit. In the various configurations, the Harmony satellites’ synthetic aperture radar (SAR) instruments will receive the Sentinel-1 radar signals that will bounce back from Earth’s surface. At the same time, Harmony’s TIR instruments will provide complementary observations of the sea surface as well as the position and motion of clouds above it.
The combination of thermal and radar imagery will help provide a wide array of data, giving more insight into upper-ocean heat exchanges, drivers of extreme weather, and the long-term impact of climate change. The mission will also provide new information for a better understanding of how ice being lost from glaciers is affecting sea-level rise.
The Harmony mission is led by OHB in Germany, with ABB acting as Thermal Infrared payload prime. The two satellites are planned to be launched in 2029.
Image credit: ESA, OHB, Getty Images/iStockphoto (vchal)
