Mock-up of Arctic Weather Satellite prototype by OHB Sweden

The European Space Agency (ESA) will pay OHB Sweden more than 32 million euros ($38 million) to build a prototype satellite that could end up evolving into a larger weather satellite constellation.

Under the terms of the contract announced Tuesday, OHB will lead an industrial consortium that will produce a polar-orbiting spacecraft that can provide high-resolution humidity and temperature soundings of the atmosphere for ESA’s Arctic Weather Satellite mission. The consortium includes Omnisys Sweden, which will build the system’s microwave radiometer, and Thales Alenia Space, which will provide the ground segment.

The ESA polar-orbiting Arctic Weather Satellite mission is designed to complement its cooperative MetOp program with EUMETSAT (European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites), as well as it’s U.S. counterpart, the NOAA Joint Polar Satellite System. ESA said it could decide to seek EU member-state approval to expand the prototype program into a potential constellation of similar satellites that would supply a constant stream of temperature and humidity data from any location on Earth, including the Arctic.

“Looking forward, ESA would develop the envisaged constellation in cooperation with EUMETSAT, along the same agreement that led to the implementation of the generations of Meteosat and MetOp satellites,” ESA said in a statement.