ERS 1

ESA / Europe

Launch data:

Designation	21574 / 91050A
Launch date	17 Jul 1991
Launch site	Ko, ELA-2
Launch vehicle	Ariane-40 (V44)
Mission	Remote sensing
Earth orbit on:
Perigee/Apogee	768/769 km
Inclination	98.5°
Period	100.2 min
Orbital cycle	3, 35 and 176 days

ESA's first remote sensing satellite. Cost: $500 million

Since early 1994 the satellite transmits with the backup travelling wave tube because the primary one failed.

Specifications

Prime contractor	Dornier
Platform	MMS Spot (Mark 1)
Mass at launch	2400 kg
Payload mass	1100 kg
Dry mass	2080 kg
Length	11.8 m
Solar array	11.7 x 2.4 m
SAR antenna	10 x 1 m
Radar altimeter	1.2 m (diameter)
Stabilization	3-axis
DC power	2500 W
Downlink	2225 MHz
Design lifetime	3 yrs

End of life

Out of service	10 Mar 2000
Cause	failure of the attitude control system

AMI (Active Microwave Instrument)

Frequency	5.3 GHz (C-band)
SAR resolution	26 m
SAR swath width	99 km
Scatterometer resolution	47 km
Scatterometer swath width	613 km (fore and aft) 809 km (mid)

Mission: payload all-weather high-resolution images of land and ocean, windspeed and direction, ice mapping, pollution monitoring.

RA (Radar Altimeter)

Frequency	13.8 GHz (Ku-band)
Accuracy (wave height)	+/- 0.5 m
Altitude accuracy	0.1 m

Mission: windspeed and sea surface elevation, ice sheet topography.

ATSR (Along-Track Scanning Radiometer)

Wavelengths	1.6, 3.7, 10.8 and 12.0 µm
Accuracy (sea surface temperature)	+/- 0.5 K

Mission: images of sea surface temperature, total water vapour content of atmosphere, cloud, aerosols, haze, land and ice surface emissivity.

Microwave Sounder

Frequency	23.8 and 36.5 GHz
Altitude accuracy	0.02 m
Telemetry/data	S-band

Also equipped with Laser Reflectometer (LR), Precise Range and Range-rate Equipment (PRARE) and Instrument Data Handling and Transmission (IDHT).

Ref.: #15, #78a - update: 16.11.08

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