Flann Microwave announced that they are supplying vital components to NASA for a major spaceflight mission to conduct the first-ever global survey of Earth's surface water.
The multinational Surface Water and Ocean Topology (SWOT) satellite, planned to launch in 2021, is being jointly developed and managed by NASA, the French Space Agency (CNES), and the Canadian Space Agency, with contributions from the United Kingdom Space Agency.
This is Flann’s first project for NASA and the engineers are working closely with their counterparts at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), in Pasadena, California, in developing custom-made waveguide equipment. These equipment will be linked to the satellite’s high-resolution radar as it tracks how Earth’s water bodies change over time, with the aim of improving ocean circulation models, weather and climate predictions, and aiding in freshwater management around the world.
Flann’s spaceflight attenuators have been designed and tested to withstand the rigours of spaceflight, enabling consistent and highly accurate measurements as the SWOT satellite surveys Earth’s lakes, rivers, reservoirs and oceans and maps ocean surface height with greater detail than previously recorded.
Engineering models of the components have already been delivered to and passed JPL’s spaceflight qualification tests and the final spaceflight models are due to be hand carried back to the United States by JPL personnel in the coming weeks before being installed in the spacecraft.
Flann was recently called in by the Met Office to help improve the reliability of the UK weather radar network, supplying new hardware and technical advice as part of a £10 million upgrade to the Met Office Radar Network completed in February 2018.
