British-built HydroGNSS satellites poised for launch
A British-built twin-satellite mission, designed to monitor key climate variables linked to water, has been prepared for its journey into Earth orbit.
HydroGNSS is scheduled to launch this month aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base, California. It is backed by the UK Space Agency and forms part of the European Space Agency’s Scout framework.
Once it enters operations, the two-satellite system will monitor changes in satellite navigation signals caused by the physical properties of terrain, ice, oceans or vegetation to provide scientific data on the water cycle.
HydroGNSS was manufactured by Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd (SSTL) in Guildford, before being transported from the UK to California in late September. Since then, the satellites have undergone a series of final checks to prepare them for launch and are now ready to be enclosed in the rocket fairing.
You can read the full story on ESA’s HydroGNSS Scout satellites getting ready for launch on the Earth observation pages of esa.int.
