Using revolutionary laser technology, Aeolus will measure winds around the globe
ESA’s Aeolus satellite was launched on a Vega rocket from Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, at 1820 local time (2120 UTC) on 22 August. Some 55 minutes later, Vega’s upper stage delivered Aeolus into orbit and contact was established through a ground station in Antarctica at 2230 UTC.
The satellite will remain in a near-polar, sun-synchronous orbit ~200 miles (320 km) above Earth with a period of 90 minutes, passing constantly between day and night. In this way, every day should see each 22.5º swathe of longitude covered going N and S at local midday and midnight. The satellite should come into service within 3 months and planned lifetime is 3 years.
Wind measurement will be made by an atmospheric laser doppler instrument, or ‘Aladin’, transmitting ultraviolet laser pulses and collecting returned light scattered by particles in the atmosphere using a 5 ft (1.5 m) telescope. Altitude will be determined by pulse round-trip timing; doppler shift of returned pulses will give velocity of reflective particles, yielding wind velocity.
Aeolus will measure winds around the entire globe from the surface to an altitude of 19 miles (30 km).
Aeolus was ‘keeper of the winds’ in Greek mythology.
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