CANNES LA BOCCA, France - Thales Alenia Space has signed a contract with Airbus Defence and Space GmbH to develop the feed array system for the antenna on the European Space Agency’s Biomass spacecraft. One of ESA’s Earth Explorer missions, Biomass will help scientists understand the quantity of carbon stored in the world’s forests within the global carbon cycle.

Due for launch in 2021, Biomass is primarily designed to determine the distribution of biomass in the world’s forests and measure annual changes. It will generate maps of forest biomass and forest height at a resolution of 200 meters and measure deforestation at a resolution of 50 meters.

Biomass marks the first spaceborne exploration of the Earth’s surface using a P-band radar. In addition to the primary mission goals, the data generated will be used to monitor the ionosphere, glacier and ice sheets, while also mapping subsurface geology in deserts and the topography under dense vegetation.

Airbus Defence and Space UK is the prime contractor for the Biomass satellite. Airbus Defence and Space GmbH is in charge of the main instrument, a fully polarimetric synthetic aperture radar (SAR) operating in P-band (435 MHz).

Thales Alenia Space will provide the SAR Antenna Feed Array which radiates onto a 12m deployable reflector to generate the SAR beam.

Deliveries of satellites under the Living Planet Program are expected to remain steady, despite previous delays with the ADM-Aeolus and EarthCARE. ESA is taking steps to avoid delays with future missions. For example, instruments for the FLEX will be developed before the satellite platform so that potential problems can be addressed earlier. Satellites will be a mix of the more expensive Earth Explorer Core spacecraft and mid-cost Earth Explorer Opportunity spacecraft.

Source: Thales Alenia Space
Associated URL: https://www.thalesgroup.com/en/worldwide/space/press-release/thales-alenia-space-wins-equipment-contract-esas-biomass-mission#
Author: B. Ostrove, Analyst