BackForward Satellite Programme: Earth Clouds, Aerosol and Radiation Explorer 

Programme details
Programme description
  • Single satellite programme, for cloud, aerosol and radiation process study.
  • Earth Explorer core mission in the framework of the ESA Living Planet programme; joint ESA-JAXA programme: ESA responsible of the overall programme and supplier of the platform, most part of the payload and the launch service; JAXA supplier of the cloud radar.  Shared operations.
  • The platform is actively stabilised over 3 axes.
  • The design life time of the satellite is 3 years.
  • The satellite exploits a sunsynchronous orbit around 13:30.
  • See detailed description at http://www.esa.int/esaLP/ASESMYNW9SC_LPearthcare_0.html.
Data circulation
  • Onboard stored data downlinked to the ESA’s Payload Data Ground Segment at the Centre for Earth Observation (ESRIN) in Frascati (Rome).
  • Data processed at ESRIN, except data from the Cloud Profiling Radar that are processed by JAXA at the Earth Observation Research Center (EORC).
Agencies ESA , JAXA
Programme lifetime 2023 - 2026
Associated satellites and instruments

Note: red tag => no longer operational , green tag => operational , blue tag => planned