Airbus to deliver radar instrument for new Copernicus ROSE-L mission

Airbus Defence and Space in Friedrichshafen (Germany) will head an industrial consortium for the radar instrument involving companies from nine countries to deliver the project. The contract, awarded to Airbus by the mission's Prime contractor Thales Alenia Space, is worth about € 190 million.

With launch planned in July 2027, the Copernicus ROSE-L mission will carry an active phased array synthetic aperture radar instrument. From its 690 km polar orbit ROSE-L will provide day-and-night monitoring of land, oceans and ice offering more frequent imaging at high spatial resolution and sensitivity. It will use advanced radar techniques including polarimetry and interferometry to create its data products. The radar antenna will be the largest planar antenna ever built measuring an impressive 11 metres by 3.6 metres; this is roughly the size of 10 ping-pong tables.

During its 7.5 year lifetime, the ROSE-L mission will serve the needs of many users including the European Union’s Copernicus Land Monitoring and Emergency Management services. It will provide important data on soil moisture, precision farming, food security, forest biomass and changes to land use. In addition, the mission will monitor polar ice sheets and ice caps, sea ice extent, and snow cover.