Enabling RO-Based Sensing and Navigation on Metop-SG-A1

The MetOp-SG-A1 satellite was launched by an Ariane 6 rocket and hosts the Copernicus Sentinel-5 instrument. Comprising of A-type and B-type satellites, all equipped with advanced instruments, the MetOp-SG-A1 will deliver information for global weather forecasts, air quality and climate prediction for the next 20 years. The MetOp-SG-A1 is the first in a series of three pairs of satellites, the MetOp-SG-B1 will be launched next year.

The MetOp-SG-A1 launch is an exciting milestone for meteorology, celebrating European engineering excellence and ESA's long-term strategic investment in enabling technologies.

One of the mission’s enabling technologies is the AGGA-4 Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) receiver chip – an Application-Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) chip. Developed for precise space applications, AGGA-4 enables continuous onboard availability of Position, Velocity, and Time (PVT) solutions for satellites, even in challenging environments.

AGGA-4 also measures GNSS signal parameters that are used to determine the exact path the signals take through the atmosphere (from satellite to receiver). The sensor using AGGA-4 captures precise information about atmospheric temperature and humidity that influence the propagation path.

Tech in-depth

The AGGA-4 is a product of ESA innovation and the collaboration of industry, the ESA Earth Observation Envelope Programme (EOEP), Future Earth Observation Programme (FutureEO) and Technology Development Element programme (TDE), through the decades.

A brief history:

• The concept was started by ESA in the 1990s due to the inadequacy of existing European industry GNSS solutions.

• The need to support precise orbit determination, radio occultation, and formation flying became the starting point for what was to come.

• This led to the first prototype of a receiver and eventually to AGGA-0, a miniaturised digital GNSS processor.

• To promptly deliver the processor as a space-qualified component, ESA took over chip development in-house, resulting in AGGA-2, which was widely used for missions like MetOp-GRAS, GOCE, Sentinels, and Radarsat-2.

• AGGA-2’s success proved the value of mission-driven innovation and long-term investment through ESA programmes.

ESA’s technology experts were dedicated to the progressive development of AGGA-4 – working on the design's source code and CAD infrastructure for the Microelectronics Lab, contributing ESA-owned IP like the LEON2FT processor, and supporting industry solutions.

The AGGA-4 is just one example of our ongoing investment in space-grade Application-Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) chips. ESA continues to empower this investment, now working on 7nm technologies under the Electrical, Electronic and Electro-mechanical EEE Space Component Sovereignty Initiative.