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Remote sounding of the Earth's Atmospheric Limb from a micro-satellite platform: A feasibility study of the ALTIUS mission

dc.contributor.authorVrancken, D.
dc.contributor.authorPaijmans, B.
dc.contributor.authorFussen, D.
dc.contributor.authorNeefs, E.
dc.contributor.authorLoodts, N.
dc.contributor.authorDekemper, E.
dc.contributor.authorVanhellemont, F.
dc.contributor.authorDevos, L.
dc.contributor.authorMoelans, W.
dc.contributor.authorNevejans, D.
dc.contributor.authorSchroeven-Deceuninck, H.
dc.contributor.authorBernaerts, D.
dc.contributor.authorZender, J.
dc.date2008
dc.date.accessioned2016-09-21T11:04:57Z
dc.date.available2016-09-21T11:04:57Z
dc.identifier.urihttps://orfeo.belnet.be/handle/internal/4335
dc.descriptionThere is more and more interest in the understanding and the monitoring of tiie physics and chemistry of the Earth's atmosphere and its impact on the climate change. Currently a significantly high number of sounders provide the required data to monitor the changes in atmosphere composition, but a dramatic drop in operational atmosphere monitoring missions is expected around 2010. This drop is mainly visible in sounders capable of a high vertical resolution. Currently, instruments on ENVISAT and METOP provide relevant data but this is envisaged to be insufficient to ensure full spatial and temporal coverage and redundancy in the measurement data set. ALTIUS (Atmospheric Limb Tracker for the Investigation of the Upcoming Stratosphere) is a remote sounding experiment proposed by the Belgian Institute for Space Aeronomy (BIRA/IASB) for which a feasibility study was initiated with BELSPO (Belgian Science Policy) and ESA support. The main objective of this study phase was to establish a mission concept, to define the required payload and to establish a satellite platform design. The study was led by the BIRA/IASB team and performed in close collaboration with OIP (payload developer) and Verhaert Space (spacecraft developer). The mission scenario includes bright limb observations in basically all directions, solar occultations around the terminator passages and star occultations during eclipse. These observation modes allow imaging the atmosphere with a high vertical resolution. The spacecraft will be operated in a 10:00 sun-synchronous orbit at an altitude of 695 km, allowing a 3-day revisit time. The envisaged payload for the ALTIUS mission is an imaging spectrometer, observing in the UV, the VIS and the NIR spectral ranges. For each spectral range, an AOTF (Acousto-Optical Tunable Filter) will permit to perform observations of selectable small wavelength domains. A typical set of 10 wavelengths will be recorded within 1 second. The different operational modes impose a high agility capability on the platform. Furthermore, the quasicontinuous monitoring by the payload will drive the design of the platform in terms of power and downlink capabilities. The mission will be performed using a derivative of the PROBA platform, developed by Verhaert Space. This paper will present the mission requirements for the ALTIUS mission, the envisaged instrument, the spacecraft concept design and the related mission analysis.
dc.languageeng
dc.titleRemote sounding of the Earth's Atmospheric Limb from a micro-satellite platform: A feasibility study of the ALTIUS mission
dc.typeConference
dc.subject.frascatiEarth and related Environmental sciences
dc.audienceScientific
dc.subject.freeAcoustic devices
dc.subject.freeAtmospheric chemistry
dc.subject.freeAtmospherics
dc.subject.freeClimate change
dc.subject.freeClimatology
dc.subject.freeDecision making
dc.subject.freeDrops
dc.subject.freePlanning
dc.subject.freeResource allocation
dc.subject.freeSatellites
dc.subject.freeSolar energy
dc.subject.freeSpace flight
dc.subject.freeSpacecraft
dc.subject.freeSpacecraft instruments
dc.subject.freeSulfur compounds
dc.subject.freeAtmosphere compositions
dc.subject.freeConcept designs
dc.subject.freeDown links
dc.subject.freeEarth's atmospheres
dc.subject.freeENVISAT
dc.subject.freeFeasibility studies
dc.subject.freeHigh agilities
dc.subject.freeHigh vertical resolutions
dc.subject.freeImaging spectrometers
dc.subject.freeMeasurement data sets
dc.subject.freeMission analysis
dc.subject.freeMission concepts
dc.subject.freeMission requirements
dc.subject.freeOperational modes
dc.subject.freeOptical-
dc.subject.freeRemote soundings
dc.subject.freeSatellite platform designs
dc.subject.freeSatellite platforms
dc.subject.freeSolar occultations
dc.subject.freeSpacecraft developers
dc.subject.freeSpectral ranges
dc.subject.freeStar occultations
dc.subject.freeSynchronous orbits
dc.subject.freeTemporal coverages
dc.subject.freeTypical sets
dc.subject.freeWavelength domains
dc.subject.freeEarth atmosphere
dc.source.titleESA SP-660: The Proceedings of the 4S Symposium - Small Satellites Systems and Services, 26–30 May 2008, ESA-ESTEC, Noordwijk, The Netherlands
dc.source.volume660
Orfeo.peerreviewedNo
dc.identifier.scopus2-s2.0-58149164681


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