ESA’s Biomass satellite mission will find data on changes in forest biomass and on the scale of deforestation that remain inaccurate. Photo Credit: ESA

Sener will design, manufacture and test devices for the assembly of the Biomass satellite, a mission of the European Space Agency (ESA) under the Earth Explorer program. The program’s objective is to find answers to the most important scientific questions about the environment of our planet.

Sener will develop all the devices for assembly of the satellite structure, including vertical transport equipment, assembly and disassembly of satellite panels, assembly and disassembly of the Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR), which is the main research instrument, and the container for transporting the radar. The devices for assembly of the radar constitute the main challenge of the contract because it contains a large 12m diameter antenna. The whole satellite will weigh 1,170 kg and have a dimension of 10 x 12 x 20m.

Assembly equipment is one of Sener’s specialties. Recently, the company delivered 13 Mechanical Ground Support Equipment (MGSE) devices for Euclid, a satellite weighing 2.3 tons.

The Biomass mission is aimed at finding data on changes in forest biomass and on the scale of deforestation that remain inaccurate. Reliable data will enable better understanding of the carbon cycle in the environment and global warming processes. This data will also form the basis for United Nations (UN) initiatives intended to reduce carbon emissions resulting from deforestation in developing countries. Biomass will enable creation of 3D forest maps in 200m resolution (1 pixel = 200m). The start of the mission is planned for 2021 and it will last at least five years.