Thales Alenia Space to build SWOT
oceanography satellite
January 6, 2015
Thales Alenia Space
has been selected by French space agency
CNES (Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales)
to build the oceanography satellite SWOT
(Surface Water and Ocean Topography).
Produced in collaboration with U.S.
space agency NASA's Jet Propulsion
Laboratory (JPL) on behalf of the French
and American space agencies, SWOT is an
oceanography program that will
demonstrate new applications, and is a
follow-on to the Jason-1, 2 and 3
operational missions. It will
incorporate unprecedented technological
innovations in altimetry.
As the name indicates, it is designed to
study ocean topography and surface water
on the continents. SWOT comprises both
an oceanography and a hydrology mission.
For oceanography, the satellite will
provide measurements of ocean surface
and wave height with higher resolution
than its predecessor Jason satellites.
This data will be used to analyze and
understand the effects of coastal
circulation on marine life, ecosystems,
water quality and energy transfers,
resulting in more accurate models of the
interactions between oceans and the
atmosphere. The hydrology mission will
evaluate continental surface water, to
study changes in water storage in humid
zones, lakes and reservoirs, as well as
flow rates in rivers.
Thales Alenia Space will develop a
new-generation platform for the SWOT
satellite, offering, for the first time,
a controlled atmospheric reentry of the
satellite at end-of-life, in line with
the French Space Operations Act. The
company will also handle satellite
assembly, integration and testing (AIT),
delivery to the launch center, and
operations for the launch campaign.
The SWOT payload
comprises two subassemblies, KaRIn
and NADIR. Built by JPL, KaRIn
(Ka-band Radar INterferometer)
comprises two Ka-band antennas, located
10 meters apart but precisely positioned
in relation to each other. It offers
two-dimensional observation capability
over a 120-kilometer swath, with
horizontal resolution of 50-100 meters,
programmable on either side. The
interferometry type altimeter will
provide coverage of lakes, rivers,
reservoirs and oceans, at a repeat rate
of twice every 21 days. Thales Alenia
Space is also offering to supply the RFU
(Radio Frequency Unit), which is at the
heart of this instrument.
The NADIR
module comprises the same instruments as
on the Jason satellites, including the
Poseidon dual-frequency altimeter made
by Thales Alenia Space. It also includes
the Thales-built Doris system for
precision oribital determination, an AMR
(Advanced Microwave Radiometer), the
GPSP (GPS Payload) and the LRA (Laser
Retro-reflector Array) built by JPL.
Weighing about 2 metric tons at launch,
SWOT will be placed into orbit at an
altitude of 890 km, with an inclination
of 77.6°. Compatible with the Antares,
Falcon 9 and Atlas V launchers, it is
expected to be launched in 2020 for a
demonstration mission lasting about
three years.
"I would like to
thank CNES for choosing us to build this
new oceanography satellite, which will
mark a break with previous generations,"
said Hervé Hamy, Vice President for
Observation and Sciences at Thales
Alenia Space France. "SWOT will be the
very first satellite to offer controlled
reentry, and will also incorporate
new-generation avionics that perfectly
match CNES's new ISIS standard. Winning
this new contract paves the way for our
product policy to include swath
altimetry, and bolsters Thales Alenia
Space's world leadership in space
altimetry."
*ISIS: Initiative for Space Innovative
Standards
