ADM-Aeolus

ADM -Aeolus ( Atmospheric Dynamics Mission English - Aeolus: God of Wind) is the name of ESA satellites from the series of Earth Explorer Missions, a long-term framework program of ESA's Earth observation. As the first satellite ever he carries as a payload of a laser and a reflecting telescope, with which air flows to be collected a large scale after the lidar principle.

Astrium is the prime contractor of this mission and also responsible for the ADM - Aeolus Aladin instrument, the electrical architecture of the platform and their subsystems.

Data

The satellite Aeolus should be started in April 2011 with a Rockot rocket on a sun-synchronous orbit 400 km above the original. In 2011, we started from a start in 2013. Now the start is for 2016Vorlage: Future / planned in 2 years.

Body and Payload

The launch mass is about 1100 kg, the service life is 3 years.

Its payload consists of a lidar, called ALADIN (Atmospheric Laser Doppler Lidar Instrument). It emits short pulses of light in the near UV ( 355 nm), whose backscatter registered a reflecting telescope of 1.5 m diameter. From the times of the reflected radiation in the atmosphere and its Doppler shift is obtained evidence of the moisture distribution, flow and wind conditions in the atmosphere at different heights. The horizontal spatial resolution is better than 50 km.

The cost is approximately 300 million euros, of which about 200 million euros for the satellite (as of 2004).