EOS Engineering has been awarded with the EUROPEAN SPACE AGENCY project “A Low-Frequency and Wide-Band Reflector Antenna Feed for Future Earth Observation Radiometers”. The objective of the activity is to develop a circularly-polarized low-frequency and wide-band feed that will excite Future Earth Observation Radiometers, which will be used to study deeply Earth’s cold regions. Such radiometers will allow for gathering information of key parameters in polar areas such as ice sheet, ice volume or sea surface salinity, which at present cannot be adequately monitored by state-of-the-art instruments. In fact, it will be possible to study their effect and relation with global climate change. One interesting related mission is the candidate to ESA’s 11th Earth Explorer mission Cryorad.
*Credits by ESA
The nadir looking radiometer will be installed on a polar-orbit satellite and its operating range goes from 400 MHz to 2 GHz, with continuous sampling of the band. Nowadays, there is no obvious solution for a feasible feed chain working in such a wide frequency band, hence the need for this project in which EOS INGENIERÍA is the prime contractor. The design will be based on the assumption that a feed cluster must be accommodated in the launch fairing illuminating an ideal reflector with a diameter not greater than 12.5 m, providing the required swath on Earth. After the state-of-art research and trade-off of different feasible feed solutions, the aerospace team of EOS INGENIERÍA will be in charge for the design, manufacturing and validation of a breadboard model.
EOS INGENIERÍA is proud to develop this project in close cooperation with AIRBUS DEFENCE AND SPACE, which will collaborate with the vision at complete antenna level, including the accommodation of the feed cluster in the platform and the consolidation of the antenna requirements.
