Ibadan, 21 October 2022. – SSC has disclosed an agreement with the European Space Agency (ESA) for data reception support of the Biomass satellite scheduled for launch in late 2023. Biomass will explore and gather vital data about the Earth’s forests. Furthermore, it will evaluate global carbon storage and monitor its evolution over the five-year lifetime of the mission, exhibiting plant growth and deforestation. In addition, SSC will support the mission with X-band data downlink connectivity from its polar ground stations in Inuvik and Kirun as the only commercial ground station provider,
Biomass is the seventh satellite in orbit within ESA’s Earth Explorer program, a series of research missions dedicated to specific aspects of our Earth’s environment. This includes the atmosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere, and cryosphere down to the Earth’s surface and interior. SSC will also support the sixth Earth Explorer mission, the EarthCARE satellite, with plans to launch earlier in 2023.
On the occasion, Michael Fehringer, ESA Project Manager for the Biomass mission, stated, “we are delighted to continue working with SSC on yet another ESA mission.” Likewise, Lars Johansson, SSC Business Development Director EMEA, added, “it’s an honor to support yet another mission within this ESA flagship program. By combining the coverage from our polar ground stations in Inuvik and Kiruna, called the Kinuvik Concept, we can support Biomass with long-duration data downlink on every orbit, as well as redundancy with both stations being visible on most orbits,”
“Kinuvik is a popular ground segment solution within EO satellite operators. It ensures more data in fewer orbits, helping important research such as Biomass to move forward as quickly as possible. We are proud that our ground infrastructure is increasingly leveraged for research and applications which contribute to more sustainable use of our Planet’s resources,” he continued.
ESA will launch the Biomass satellite with Ariane’s Vega rocket from ESA’s station in Kourou, French Guiana.
