The European Space Agency (ESA) is the customer for 20 satellites that will collect data that will lead to significantly more reliable weather forecasts.
OHB Sweden has manufactured the prototype Arctic Weather Satellite, which was launched in 2024, and is now being entrusted with manufacturing other satellites in the coming years. Each will weigh 125 kilograms and be about the size of a washing machine. At least six will be in space at the same time until 2042.
"Our mission is to have the first six ready for delivery in mid-2029," says project manager Joakim Kugelberg.
"Expanding"
According to the company , the order is worth over 248 million euros, equivalent to 2.67 billion SEK.
"We are expanding and recruiting for this project," says CEO Fredrik Sjöberg.
SMHI is looking forward to the new satellites being in place. They are equipped with a radiometer, an instrument that measures the temperature and humidity in the atmosphere.
"This type of measurement is one of those that has provided the greatest benefit in weather forecast models over the last 20 years," says satellite expert Adam Dybbroe at the weather authority.
Big step
Calculations show that forecasts will be about 6 percent more accurate with the program, and that it will save hundreds of lives as weather warning systems improve. Usually forecasts improve in small steps, but the satellites in the EPS-Sterna project represent a big leap.
"I think it feels incredibly exciting. It's really something new for Europe to invest in a type of observation system with many small satellites," says Dybbroe.
The satellites' orbits pass over the poles, parts of the Earth that are warming fastest and where weather data is currently limited. At the same time, forecasts will also be significantly improved in the member countries. Stockholm, for example, will be passed over on average every 20 minutes.
"The new constellation will play a crucial role in strengthening Europe's weather forecasting capabilities and delivering timely data where it is needed most," said Simonetta Cheli, head of ESA's Earth Observation Programme, in a press release.
The European Space Agency (ESA) has ordered 20 satellites from Swedish OHB.
Subcontractors to OHB include AAC Clyde Space in Uppsala and AAC Omnisys in Gothenburg.
The first six satellites are scheduled to be launched in 2029. They will then be replaced twice during the project's lifetime, until at least 2042. Two satellites are being manufactured as a reserve.
The project is called EPS-Sterna, where EPS stands for Eumetsat Polar System and Sterna is taken from the scientific name of the European tern (Sterna paradisaea), known for its long migrations.
