ing and calibrating data.”
Scientists will meticulously compare Aeolus’s data with wind measurements collected by airplanes. The calibration campaign will extend into next year, ensuring accuracy of the satellite’s measurements.
“That will go on until the second quarter of 2019, and by that moment, we hope to have declared the quality such that meteorologists … can start ingesting our data operationally,” Elfving said.
Aeolus is the fifth in a series of ESA’s Earth Explorer missions, a line of satellite projects designed to make measurements of a specific part of the Earth’s land, sea, or atmospheric environments, while making advancements in technology for future Earth observation missions.
“Aeolus epitomizes the essence of an Earth Explorer,” said Jan Woerner, ESA’s director general, in a statement. “It will fill a gap in our knowledge of how the planet functions and demonstrate how cutting-edge technology can be used in space.”
The next launch for Arianespace is scheduled for September, when the 100th flight of an Ariane 5 rocket is set to haul two commercial communications satellites into orbit. That mission will also mark the 300th launch managed by Arianespace since its formation.
The Vega rocket’s next flight is scheduled for no earlier than December, with the Italian Space Agency’s experimental PRISMA mission to test a new type of Earth-imaging camera in orbit.
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