It is well known that real aperture radiometers feature very high snapshot sensitivity, if compared with synthetic aperture radiometers. On the other hand, synthetic aperture interferometric radiometers can provide wide FoV and high spatial resolution thanks to the synthetic aperture processing. Real aperture radiometers may become very attractive from the sensitivity performance point-of-view if a simultaneous multiple beam coverage is achieved in the entire FoV (i.e. both in across-track and in along-track directions).

An experienced AOCS contractor shall develop the generic requirements and framework for AOCS units modelling and together with some unit supplier(s) develop a first set of simulation models. The initiative will consider both functional models of adequate fidelity needed for AOCS system design, and interface-representative models for avionics verification on Virtual Test Bench. This contract should be followed by dedicated model developments with each unit supplier to produce and validate, against real unit tests, the models for their units.

The activity focuses on the design of an antenna architecture featuring a single reflecting surface able to generate several different beams. Several feeds can be used to illuminate a shared shaped reflector with locally modified reflection characteristics so has to form separate beams. A dedicated design procedure is required to allow an efficient antenna performance optimisation, including an initial high-level synthesis of the antenna geometry and surface layout, followed by a full-wave optimisation of the reflecting surface. The activity encompasses two steps.

Mercury cadmium telluride has proved itself as the material of choice for infrared detectors in the short and medium wave regions of the spectrum. A wide range of device designs are available with varying parameters and of varying sizes. Space missions are utilising these devices but studies of future requirements have identified the need for larger area, high-resolution, very low noise detector arrays that are currently not available within Europe.

The model based software engineering consists in expressing the software functional requirements with models. In order to get the requirements right as early as possible, system-software co-engineering is necessary, in this case avionics-software co-engineering, where the software functional models are placed consistently into an avionics model.The avionics model represents the physical architecture on which the software will run (deployment view).

Currently employed approaches to FDIR development are poorly phased with regard to the main Software Development activities. They have tendency of starting late, awaiting for the system Failure Mode Effects and Criticality Analysis (FMECA) data. If functional FMECA is sometimes available, its update into the physical FMECA is seldom ready for software development. FDIR definition is not adequately synchronised with the nominal Software System behaviour.

In the framework of the on-board payload data processing reference system, the computing power is de-centralised and distributed in well-defined processing modules where the applications rely on. One of the major benefits of this architecture is to allow the independent technological evolution of the modules without affecting the architecture itself: objective of this activity is therefore to provide the system with new processing models that can be, on one side, painless inserted into the exiting architecture and, on the other side, not specifically designed for a particular need.

BIOMASS, a candidate Earth Explorer mission in Phase A, proposes to measure ice flows over Earth's major ice sheets as a secondary objective in its side-looking observation geometry. On the other hand, P-band ice sounding radar mission concepts have been proposed already for Earth Explorers (e.g. MIMOSA, CARISMA) for obtaining three-dimensional characteristics of ice sheets and underlying bedrock topography.

Typically the human computer interface used on current operational systems consists of a three headed workstation with a keyboard and mouse. During mission critical phases the flight control team and associated support personnel (who are typically distributed throughout different rooms) wear headsets and communicate over voice loops. In the event that an issue arises that requires discussion a meeting is called. This entails that the meeting participants need to leave their workstations to attend the meeting.

Problem – Traditional X-ray windows