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Raumfahrt - Start von SpaceX Falcon9 mit ESA’s EarthCARE satellite Update1

11.03.2024

EarthCARE goes west for launch

After being packed up in Germany, a long voyage to the US and then a month in storage, ESA’s EarthCARE satellite has been carefully lifted out of its transport container so that the team at the launch site can start getting it ready for its big day in May.

With the climate crisis increasingly tightening its grip, the Earth Cloud Aerosol and Radiation Explorer, or EarthCARE for short, carries a set of four state-of-the-art instruments that will work together to provide a holistic view of complex interplay between clouds, aerosols, incoming solar radiation and outgoing radiation to yield new insight into Earth’s radiation balance.

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EarthCARE revealed

The EarthCARE satellite spent over a month cocooned in its transport container, during which the container’s temperature and pressure were monitored carefully throughout.

Importantly, the team also purged nitrogen from the container to keep the satellite’s instruments in perfect condition.

A NASA building near the Space X launch site in Vandenberg, California, was home for EarthCARE during the storage period. Then, a few days ago, the satellite container was taken by truck to a different facility, called the Astrotech building, where it was first left to acclimatise to its new surroundings.

But now, EarthCARE has now been carefully removed from the container, and the team has been reunited with their precious satellite.

ESA’s EarthCARE launch campaign manager, Bill Simpson, said, “EarthCARE’s journey to California and subsequent few weeks of storage all went really well, but we were anxious to actually lay eyes on the satellite again.

“So, when we were able to open the container and hoist EarthCARE out, we were all very excited. This hoisting manoeuvre is a very careful one – our satellite is over 2000 kg of very sensitive equipment.

“I’m extremely happy to report that EarthCARE looks fit and well, but we obviously have to run a series of tests to make absolutely sure that it survived the journey ok.”

One of the first tasks on the ‘launch campaign’ to-do list was to give the satellite some energy by charging up its batteries.

Hoisting EarthCARE from the base of its container
Hoisting EarthCARE from the base of its container

In parallel, the team at ESA’s Operations Centre in Germany is running a series of all-important simulations – these simulate what they will have to do during liftoff and the ‘early orbit’ phase of the mission.

ESA’s EarthCARE Project Manager, Dirk Bernaerts, noted, “This really does mark the start of the launch campaign – an important milestone that signals the start of an intense period that will last at least six weeks leading to liftoff.”

“The team has a lot of work to do, the satellite is not only big, but extremely complex so everything has to be carefully checked and prepared before it is encapsulated within its Falcon 9 rocket fairing prior to launch towards the end of May.

Follow the EarthCARE launch campaign blog for more updates.

Working to simulate EarthCARE launch
Working to simulate EarthCARE launch

Quelle: ESA 

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Update: 7.05.2024

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Mission control ready for EarthCARE despite disruption

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Teams at ESA’s European Space Operations Centre in Darmstadt, Germany, are currently engaged in intensive preparations for the critical ‘Launch and Early Orbit’ phase of the agency's EarthCARE satellite.

The core of any launch preparations at ESA is the ‘simulations campaign’. By rehearsing the time-critical operations that take place on and around launch day, the campaign trains the spacecraft’s flight control team together with support teams from flight dynamics, ground systems and software support as well as teams from the satellite’s manufacturer and instrument teams into a single cohesive unit.

Experienced Simulations Officers monitor the actions of the combined Mission Control Team and inject faults into the ground segment that force the team to react in real time: What should they do if a member of the control team suddenly falls ill? What if communication with the spacecraft is interrupted at a crucial moment? How should they react to an alert from ESA’s Space Debris Office warning of a possible collision in orbit?

Members of the EarthCARE Flight Control Team during launch preparations
Members of the EarthCARE Flight Control Team during launch preparations

“Our Simulations Officers are very good at finding potential weak points,” says EarthCARE Flight Operations Director, José Morales. “This team is excellent, but young, for example. So, they were forced to handle an issue while their experienced team leader was kept out of the action. What they face during the simulation campaign will likely be far worse than anything they encounter on launch day. But in spacecraft operations, we hope for the best and plan for the worst.”

Effective communication is essential on launch day. The ESA teams must work seamlessly with those from partners such as the Japanese space agency, JAXA, who developed EarthCARE’s Cloud Profiling Radar.

To this end, a delegation of JAXA engineers and team leaders joined their ESA colleagues in the Mission Control Team for the simulations campaign and will support the operations of their instrument in real time during the Launch and Early Orbit Phase. As part of the simulation campaign, the teams rehearsed the problem-solving steps that they would go through if something were to go wrong during the deployment of the radar’s 2.5-metre reflector dish.

However, there was one disruption that even our Simulation Officers had not planned for. While carrying out nearby engineering works, civil authorities in the city of Darmstadt uncovered an object that they feared could be an old, unexploded bomb. If that were the case, the surrounding area would need to be evacuated, including ESA mission control. The day’s EarthCARE simulations were cancelled while the object was investigated.

“It is not unusual to challenge the team to evacuate the control centre during a simulation,” says Isabel Rojo, EarthCARE Spacecraft Operations Manager. “But that is very different from having to replan our preparations schedule just a few weeks before a launch. The timing was unfortunate, increasing the pressure on an already tight schedule, but dealing with unexpected challenges is part of what we do here.”

Satellite operators monitor EarthCARE during simulated rehearsals
Satellite operators monitor EarthCARE during simulated rehearsals

Fortunately, the object was not a bomb, and the EarthCARE team was able to return to mission control the next day. They have now entered the most demanding phase of their launch preparations as the Simulation Officers raise the stakes to the point of almost losing the spacecraft. After this climactic scenario, the simulations will return to more mild anomalies before the team carries out a trouble-free dress rehearsal on 17 May.

By that time, they will be fully prepared to guide EarthCARE through its first days in orbit and onwards as it begins its mission to improve our understanding of the role that clouds and aerosols play in Earth’s changing climate.

Follow @esaoperations and @esa_eo on X and esa_earth on Instagram for EarthCARE updates on and around launch day.

Experience the tension at ESA mission control in our short film: “The Burn

Quelle: ESA

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Update: 13.05.2024

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Projekt "Earthcare"

Neuer Satellit: "Das hat sonst keiner"
ein-satellit-kreis-um-die-erde-symbolbild-russland-hat-wohl-eine-waffe-entwickelt-um-andere-satellit
Ein Satellit Kreis um die Erde (Symbolbild): Der Erdbeobachtungssatellit "Earthcare" soll bessere Klimamodelle ermöglichen, die helfen, Unwetter vorherzusagen. (Quelle: Dragon Claws/getty-images-bilder)

Ende Mai geht es los: Der Satellit "Earthcare" soll helfen, Klima- und Wettermodelle zu verbessern.

Die Europäische Raumfahrtagentur ESA bereitet sich auf den Start des neuen Erdbeobachtungssatelliten "Earthcare" vor (kurz für: Earth Cloud Aeorosol and Radiation Explorer). Der Start ist für Ende Mai geplant und soll helfen, das Wissen über die Erdatmosphäre zu vervollständigen und Klimamodelle und Wettervorhersagen zu verbessern.

Seit Wochen trainieren Spezialisten im Kontrollzentrum der ESA in Darmstadt intensiv für diese Mission. Bei dieser handelt es sich um eine von Europas und Japans aufwändigsten Erdbeobachtungsmissionen mit dem Ziel, ein 3D-Modell der gesamten Atmosphäre zu erstellen. Die Forscher hoffen, dadurch ein besseres Verständnis für Klima- und Wetterphänomene zu entwickeln.

Ziel: Ein 3D-Modell der gesamten Athmosphäre zu erstellen

Nicolaus Hanowski von der Esa-Direktion erklärt: "Das hat sonst keiner." Mit der "Earthcare"-Mission soll nämlich die Wechselwirkung zwischen Wolken, Aerosolen und Sonneneinstrahlung auf globaler Ebene untersucht werden. Hanowski betont: "Wir machen die Säule dreidimensional, indem wir die komplette Erdoberfläche untersuchen."

Dieser Satellit wird mit vier hochkomplexen Instrumenten ausgestattet sein, welche unter anderem Dichteprofile gewinnen, den Wassergehalt von Wolken bestimmen, die chemische Zusammensetzung messen und die Art der Moleküle erfassen können. Diese Daten sollen dann genutzt werden, um Wettervorhersagen zu optimieren.

Damit sollen Kathastrophen langfristig vorausgesagt werden

Hanowski ist jedoch vorsichtig bei Aussagen zu kurzfristigen Warnungen vor Unwetterereignissen. Auch wenn die neuen Daten dabei helfen sollen, Unwetter wie die tödliche Flutkatastrophe 2021 im Kreis Ahrweiler langfristig besser vorherzusagen, sagt er: "Kurzfristige Warnungen vor derartigen Ereignissen sind indes auch mit den neuen Daten nicht möglich." Es geht vielmehr darum, die Dynamik von Wolken und der Atmosphäre zu verstehen und damit langfristige Vorhersagen und Klimamodelle zu verbessern.

Der Leiter des Kontrollzentrums in Darmstadt, Simon Plum, bereitet sich mit seinen Teams intensiv auf den Start vor. Die größten Herausforderungen seien der Start selbst, die Ausrichtung der Solarpanele zur Sonne zur Energiegewinnung und das Herstellen der Kommunikation mit dem Orbiter. Sollte hier auch nur ein Aspekt schiefgehen, wird es am Starttag nicht heißen: "We have a mission."

Quelle: t-online.de

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Update: 28.05.2024

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Watch EarthCARE launch live

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ESA’s Earth Cloud Aerosol and Radiation Explorer (EarthCARE) mission is getting ready for lift-off on a SpaceX Falcon 9 from Vandenberg, California, with a target launch date of no earlier than 28 May 2024. Save the date and watch the launch live on ESA WebTV or ESA YouTube.

EarthCARE, the most complex of all of ESA’s Earth Explorer missions, will quantify and reduce the uncertainty about the role that clouds and aerosols play in heating and cooling Earth’s atmosphere – contributing to our better understanding of climate change.

ESA’s cloud and aerosol mission

Understanding and monitoring Earth’s radiation balance is crucial for addressing climate-related issues and is something that can only be done from space.

Developed as a cooperation between ESA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), EarthCARE will examine the role that clouds and aerosols play in reflecting solar radiation back into space and also in trapping infrared radiation emitted from Earth’s surface.

EarthCARE will, for the first time, measure vertical profiles of cloud particles and aerosols, and their fall speed – providing new insights into interactions between clouds, aerosols and precipitation. It will also register the distribution of water droplets and ice crystals and how they are transported in clouds.

This essential data will improve the accuracy of both cloud development models and their behaviour, composition and interaction with aerosols, as well as improve future climate models and support numerical weather prediction.

EarthCARE over desert dust
EarthCARE over desert dust

EarthCARE is equipped with four state-of-the-art instruments that work together to provide a holistic view of the interplay between clouds, aerosols and radiation.

The satellite’s atmospheric lidar delivers cloud-top information and profiles of thin clouds and aerosols. The cloud profiling radar, provided by JAXA, provides information on the vertical structure, motion and internal dynamics of clouds. The multispectral imager offers a wide-scene overview in multiple wavelengths, and the broadband radiometer directly measures reflected solar radiation and outgoing infrared radiation.

By using all four instruments at the same time, our understanding on the impact of clouds and aerosols on reflecting sunlight and trapping heat can be directly correlated with measured reflected solar radiation and emitted thermal radiation combined on one satellite.

EarthCARE will orbit Earth at an altitude of around 400 km which is as low as possible to optimise the use of both lidar and radar. It will fly in a polar orbit, crossing the equator in the early afternoon, to optimise daylight conditions.

The White Dragon

According to JAXA tradition, satellites are also given nicknames in addition to their ‘official’ names. The nickname chosen for EarthCARE is ‘Hakuryu’ or ‘White Dragon’ in Japanese.

The name ‘Hakuryu’ embodies the distinctive characteristics of the satellite's appearance, with its white body and solar panel resembling a long tail. In Japanese mythology, dragons are ancient and divine creatures that govern water and fly in the sky: an appropriate metaphor for a mission that will study clouds and aerosols.

Additionally, the launch year of EarthCARE in 2024 coincides with the Japanese Year of the Dragon, known as ‘tatsu-doshi.’

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EarthCARE: the white dragon
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Follow the launch live

Watch the EarthCARE launch live on ESA WebTV or via ESA YouTube.

Programme (All times in CEST)

23:34 Start of ESA WebTV Programme - Live from the European Space Operations Centre

00:05 SpaceX live broadcast begins

00:20 Lift-off 

00:30 Spacecraft deployment

01:12 Acquisition of signal

01:20 End of ESA TV webcast

Quelle: ESA

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Quelle: X Twitter

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Last look at EarthCARE

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