ABSL Space Products Boosts Climate Monitoring
22nd October 2007
ABSL Space Products is proud to be able to mark the first anniversary today of the launch into orbit of the IASI instrument on board the MetOp-A satellite.
ABSL provided the highly accurate on-board temperature reference standard which maintains the instrument’s absolute accuracy during the course of the satellite mission.
The users of the EUMETSAT satellite system recently applauded the results coming from the instrument, which is giving new insight into the levels of green house gases present in the air. The inclusion of ABSL’s accurate temperature reference system is key to the accuracy of this space-based climate monitoring system.
The EUMETSAT satellite system will detect and accurately measure the levels of gases known to influence climate change, such as carbon dioxide, ozone and methane, and will herald a breakthrough in the global monitoring of the environment, in particular effects on climate change.
The IASI black body calibration systems for MetOp-A are just some of the latest space products produced by ABSL. The company already has twelve highly accurate black body reference sources in orbit and a further six awaiting launch. This industry-leading experience, gained through providing flight equipment for the ENVISAT, MSG, and METOP series of satellites, amongst others, enhances ABSL’s claim to be the leading supplier of heritage calibration sources into the space EO market. The high degrees of accuracy achieved by previous instruments such as ATSR and Advanced ATSR, rely for their accuracy on the unrivalled performance of ABSL’s absolute temperature reference systems.
Rob Spurrett commented on reaching the anniversary:
“It’s good to know that the hard work put in to designing and manufacturing our space-qualified black body products is paying off by enabling satellite system users to maximise the potential of their earth observation measurements. The ten years’ hard work we have put in to developing our range of space heritage standards products such as for ATSR is finally paying off – both for us and for the environment! The results speak for themselves and it’s good to know that our customers continue to appreciate our contribution to space mission success.”
-ENDS-
Media Information
For media information please contact:
- Rob Spurrett (UK) T: +44 1865 408 747 E:
- Chris Pearson (USA) T: +1 303-241-1229 E:
Notes To Editors:
ABSL Space Products (formerly AEA Technology Space)
ABSL Space Products is a trading name of ABSL Power Solutions Limited, which is one of nine companies acquired by Coller Capital from AEA Technology plc in October 2005. This change offers ABSL Space Products a huge opportunity to grow and develop the business to achieve its ambitions.
ABSLs Space Heritage Black Body Systems
ABSL Space Products has a substantial heritage in the design and construction of blackbody systems for both space and ground based applications. The company has a specialist team of scientists and engineers who have been designing radiometric calibration sources for over fifteen years. The technology originated from an eight-year development by the UK Science and Engineering Research Council (SERC) for the Along-Track Scanning Radiometer (ATSR) instrument. The technology was licensed to ABSL Space Products and, following further internal research and development, has developed into a very successful product line.
EUMETSAT Met-Op Satellite System
Metop-A, the first of three satellites of the EUMETSAT Polar System (EPS), was launched at 16:28 UTC on 19 October 2006, from Baikonor Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. On 15 May 2007, after about 6 months in commissioning, the satellite was officially declared operational.
The Metop satellites carry on board a set of state-of-the-art sounding and imaging instruments that offer improved remote sensing capabilities to both meteorologists and climatologists. The Metop series is part of the Initial Joint Polar-Orbiting Operational Satellite System (IJPS) constellation, along with the NOAA-N and -N’ satellites. Under the IJPS, EUMETSAT and NOAA have agreed to provide instruments for each other’s satellites. Other partners are the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales (CNES) of France.
The Metop satellites carry a payload of eight instruments for observing the planet, together with a range of communications and support services. A core set of instruments for atmospheric sounding and earth imaging is identical to those flown on the NOAA satellites.
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