| 2008-10-31 | To bloggers |
ÌÅÒÎÐ-À meteo-satellite to resume direct data downlink
External view of METOP-A (per ESA data)
Scene fragment of the Russian and Ukrainian territory in AHRPT format, acquired by Alice ground receiving station on October 29, 2008
Successful testing of backup L-band AHRPT transmitter kit on ÌÅÒÎÐ-À is still ongoing.
Launched back on October 12, 2006 from the Baikonur pad on Soyuz-2.1A launch vehicle the first low-orbit meteo-satellite METOP-A has long been a problem for its Operator – EUMETSAT. In 2007 two primary radio transmitter sets, downlinking AHRPT and LRPT meteo-data, failed one by one. Data transmission in AHRPT format (spatial resolution of 1 km) on L-band was automatically stopped on July 4, 2007 after malfunctioning of the primary radio transmitter.
It’s common knowledge that ÌÅÒÎÐ-À is the first in the series of three meteo-satellites of EUMETSAT Polar System (EPS), designed by the European Space Agency (ESA) per EUMETSAT order. Twelve sensors installed onboard ÌÅÒÎÐ-À have been developed by the specialists of the French Space Agency (CNES) and the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
EUMETSAT specialists together with the designers found out that fluxes of heavy ions caused the failure of the solid-state transmitter amplifier. Due to high risks of similar failure of the backup equipment, the decision was made to resume meteo-data transmission in direct broadcasting mode within a limited footprint over Europe between 60 and 10 degrees of northern latitude.
Starting on September 29, test activations of the backup AHRPT transmitter sets were initiated. ScanEx R&D Center specialists have been successfully receiving AHRPT format data from METOP-A satellite to the proprietary Alice-SC ground receiving station in Moscow
Over 20 universal Alice-SC ground stations, developed at ScanEx and capable of receiving data from NOAA series meteo-satellites such as METOP and FY-1, have been supplied to and installed in different Russian organizations and agencies for the past three years.
Per EUMETSAT press-release data, ÌÅÒÎÐ-À tests will be carried on for 2 more moths till December and then the satellite will become operational. In Eastern part of the footprint ÌÅÒÎÐ-À delivers daily images of the European part of Russia and Ukraine.
ScanEx R&D Center advises the operators of universal Alice-SC stations about the possibility to resume test reception of METOP-A meteo-data in AHRPT format over the European part of Russia.
Launched back on October 12, 2006 from the Baikonur pad on Soyuz-2.1A launch vehicle the first low-orbit meteo-satellite METOP-A has long been a problem for its Operator – EUMETSAT. In 2007 two primary radio transmitter sets, downlinking AHRPT and LRPT meteo-data, failed one by one. Data transmission in AHRPT format (spatial resolution of 1 km) on L-band was automatically stopped on July 4, 2007 after malfunctioning of the primary radio transmitter.
It’s common knowledge that ÌÅÒÎÐ-À is the first in the series of three meteo-satellites of EUMETSAT Polar System (EPS), designed by the European Space Agency (ESA) per EUMETSAT order. Twelve sensors installed onboard ÌÅÒÎÐ-À have been developed by the specialists of the French Space Agency (CNES) and the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
EUMETSAT specialists together with the designers found out that fluxes of heavy ions caused the failure of the solid-state transmitter amplifier. Due to high risks of similar failure of the backup equipment, the decision was made to resume meteo-data transmission in direct broadcasting mode within a limited footprint over Europe between 60 and 10 degrees of northern latitude.
Starting on September 29, test activations of the backup AHRPT transmitter sets were initiated. ScanEx R&D Center specialists have been successfully receiving AHRPT format data from METOP-A satellite to the proprietary Alice-SC ground receiving station in Moscow
Over 20 universal Alice-SC ground stations, developed at ScanEx and capable of receiving data from NOAA series meteo-satellites such as METOP and FY-1, have been supplied to and installed in different Russian organizations and agencies for the past three years.
Per EUMETSAT press-release data, ÌÅÒÎÐ-À tests will be carried on for 2 more moths till December and then the satellite will become operational. In Eastern part of the footprint ÌÅÒÎÐ-À delivers daily images of the European part of Russia and Ukraine.
ScanEx R&D Center advises the operators of universal Alice-SC stations about the possibility to resume test reception of METOP-A meteo-data in AHRPT format over the European part of Russia.
