GMV’S Mission Planning System plays a key role in the operations of the MetOp-B Satellite

Three days after its launch from the Baikonur cosmodrome (Kazakhstan) on 20 September, EUMETSAT took control of Metop-B satellite operations, the second polar-orbiting, earth-observation satellite of the EUMETSAT Polar System (EPS).

From this moment on the satellite’s mission planning facility (MPF) gradually took control of MetOp-B planning. EPS MPF, Mission Planning System designed and developed by GMV has played a fundamental and critical role during the early activities of MetOp-B operations. One of these activities is the initial activation of the instruments. Although instrument activation is manual, shortly afterwards, once correct instrument activation has been validated, the MPF takes control of each instrument. By 12 days after the hand-over, the MPF had taken control of 8 of the 11 instruments making up the MetOp-B payload.

After complete instrument activation, work then begins immediately on the in-orbit verification of the satellite, lasting six weeks. During this period the direct broadcast transmission service commences; the calibration and validation of products delivered by each instrument processing chain starts in parallel, with the final product expected to be available 28 weeks after the launch. At this point Metop-B will become the prime operational satellite for supporting near-real-time services and Antarctic Data Acquisition will be switched from MetOp-A to MetOp-B.

As well as MetOp-B, EPS MPF is controlling the MetOp-A satellite (in orbit since 2006), the NOAA-19 satellite overflies of the Svalbard station and ground production of EUMETSAT’s whole EPS mission.

The experience acquired during the design and development of EPS MPF was a key factor to develop flexplan, GMV’s inhouse mission planning and scheduling system which stands out for its flexibility, adaptability and capacity for providing services in different missions and scenarios

Currently, with only one facet of the software, EPS MPF is capable of generating a timeline of activities for both MetOp- A and B satellites, the Svalbard overflies of the NOAA-19 satellite and the ground production of the whole EPS mission in a single combined schedule, thus demonstrating the powerful and successful mission-planning solution that GMV has developed.

The polar-orbiting MetOp satellites, together with the geostationary METEOSAT satellites, make up the two mainstays of the European system of meteorological observation satellites, operated by the European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites, EUMETSAT, with an 8% budget input from Spain through the Agencia Estatal de Meteorología (State Meteorology Agency). MetOp-B is the second of three making up the new generation of European weather-forecasting satellites, circling the earth in a polar orbit at a height of 817 kilometres. The first, MetOp-A, was launched on 19 October 2006 while MetOp-C, the third satellite of the series, is pencilled in for a launch in late 2017.

The MetOp satellites, which weigh about four tons and are 17.7 metres long with the solar panel deployed, are fitted with completely new technology and will complete the information currently provided by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).