ABB has been awarded a contract by L3Harris Technologies, a leading U.S. defense company, to develop and build a high-resolution infrared interferometry system to power L3Harris' next-generation infrared (IR) hyperspectral sounders. The system, aboard the Himawari-10 satellite, built by Mitsubishi Electric of Japan, will map the Earth's atmosphere in 3D over the Asia-Pacific region for 10 years.
Image Credit: ABB
The L3Harris sounder will be deployed at an altitude of 36,000 km in geostationary orbit. It will enable the Japan Meteorological Agency to improve forecasts of the trajectory and intensity of extreme weather events and extend its long-range forecasts. It will offer a 30-minute revisit capability, significantly increasing the quality and quantity of information feeding weather forecast models compared to what currently exists.
Atmospheric sounders are sophisticated optical instruments capable of probing the physical properties of the air mass that determine weather conditions, such as temperature, humidity, and movement. Infrared and microwave sounders provide most of the digital information ingested by the supercomputers that currently calculate daily and hourly forecasts. While low-Earth-orbit (LEO) weather satellites can map the entire globe, they are limited to two measurements per day at the same location, creating a significant gap in temporal coverage. Geostationary (GEO) weather satellites, on the other hand, are "stationary" in the sky above the equator and can track changing weather patterns with a much improved refresh rate. However, geostationary orbits are too distant for microwave radar echo sounders to operate, making infrared sounders the only instruments capable of capturing a high-resolution 3D digitized view of the weather below.
"Hyperspectral IR sounders, first demonstrated in 2011 on the joint NASA-NOAA polar-orbiting NPP satellite, have led to a transformation in weather forecasting," said Frédéric Grandmont, head of space technology and business development at ABB Measurement & Analytics. "Himawari-10 is expected to further improve the accuracy of weather forecasts for Japan and the Asia-Pacific region, as well as the rest of the world, as long-range 14-day forecasts depend on weather patterns across the globe."
This contract follows another supply agreement signed between ABB and L3Harris, under which ABB supplied six Cross-Track Infrared Sounder (CrIS) interferometers for the series of US low polar orbit weather satellites launched since 2011.