Intelsat Starts In-Orbit Testing of NASA's Air Pollution Monitor

Intelsat Starts In-Orbit Testing of NASA's Air Pollution Monitor

Intelsat, operator of one of the world’s largest integrated satellite and terrestrial networks and leading provider of inflight connectivity (IFC), successfully powered up the first space-based instrument to monitor major air pollutants across North America and send data back to Earth as part of the first phase of in-orbit testing.

The new UV-visible spectrometer, operated by Intelsat for NASA and the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (SAO), is hosted on the Maxar-manufactured Intelsat 40e (IS-40e) satellite launched in April and now operating in its final geostationary orbit location. TEMPO data will play an important role in scientific studies of phenomena such as rush-hour pollution and the movement of emissions from forest fires and volcanoes.

TEMPO’s hourly measurements from geostationary orbit will create a dataset that improves the prediction of air quality and climate forcing.

“The Intelsat communications and the ground system is working seamlessly as we start sending commands to TEMPO and receiving data,” said Jean-Luc Froeliger, Intelsat’s Senior VP of Space Systems. “Working closely with our partners, the rigorous testing is on schedule with the next milestone coming in July when we start to receive high-resolution data and images.”

With TEMPO powered up, Intelsat and the team turned on heaters to dry out the instrument and extract any moisture that accumulated on the ground before the April launch. While the instrument is drying out, periodic data is being transmitted. The instrument will then be cooled down to operational temperatures in space for the next phase of system testing. The early data that NASA and SAO scientists collect this summer will allow them to adjust settings to optimize TEMPO’s performance before routine operations start in October.

Click Here to Learn More About Tropospheric Emissions: Monitoring of Pollution (TEMPO).


Publisher: SatNow
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Intelsat

  • Country: United States
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beidou

Satellite NameOrbit Date
BeiDou-3 G4Geostationary Orbit (GEO)17 May, 2023
BeiDou-3 G2Geostationary Orbit (GEO)09 Mar, 2020
Compass-IGSO7Inclined Geosynchronous Orbit (IGSO)09 Feb, 2020
BeiDou-3 M19Medium Earth Orbit (MEO)16 Dec, 2019
BeiDou-3 M20Medium Earth Orbit (MEO)16 Dec, 2019
BeiDou-3 M21Medium Earth Orbit (MEO)23 Nov, 2019
BeiDou-3 M22Medium Earth Orbit (MEO)23 Nov, 2019
BeiDou-3 I3Inclined Geosynchronous Orbit (IGSO)04 Nov, 2019
BeiDou-3 M23Medium Earth Orbit (MEO)22 Sep, 2019
BeiDou-3 M24Medium Earth Orbit (MEO)22 Sep, 2019

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Satellite NameOrbit Date
GSAT0223MEO - Near-Circular05 Dec, 2021
GSAT0224MEO - Near-Circular05 Dec, 2021
GSAT0219MEO - Near-Circular25 Jul, 2018
GSAT0220MEO - Near-Circular25 Jul, 2018
GSAT0221MEO - Near-Circular25 Jul, 2018
GSAT0222MEO - Near-Circular25 Jul, 2018
GSAT0215MEO - Near-Circular12 Dec, 2017
GSAT0216MEO - Near-Circular12 Dec, 2017
GSAT0217MEO - Near-Circular12 Dec, 2017
GSAT0218MEO - Near-Circular12 Dec, 2017

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Satellite NameOrbit Date
Kosmos 2569--07 Aug, 2023
Kosmos 2564--28 Nov, 2022
Kosmos 2559--10 Oct, 2022
Kosmos 2557--07 Jul, 2022
Kosmos 2547--25 Oct, 2020
Kosmos 2545--16 Mar, 2020
Kosmos 2544--11 Dec, 2019
Kosmos 2534--27 May, 2019
Kosmos 2529--03 Nov, 2018
Kosmos 2527--16 Jun, 2018

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Satellite NameOrbit Date
Navstar 82Medium Earth Orbit19 Jan, 2023
Navstar 81Medium Earth Orbit17 Jun, 2021
Navstar 78Medium Earth Orbit22 Aug, 2019
Navstar 77Medium Earth Orbit23 Dec, 2018
Navstar 76Medium Earth Orbit05 Feb, 2016
Navstar 75Medium Earth Orbit31 Oct, 2015
Navstar 74Medium Earth Orbit15 Jul, 2015
Navstar 73Medium Earth Orbit25 Mar, 2015
Navstar 72Medium Earth Orbit29 Oct, 2014
Navstar 71Medium Earth Orbit02 Aug, 2014

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Satellite NameOrbit Date
NVS-01Geostationary Orbit (GEO)29 May, 2023
IRNSS-1IInclined Geosynchronous Orbit (IGSO)12 Apr, 2018
IRNSS-1HSub Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (Sub-GTO)31 Aug, 2017
IRNSS-1GGeostationary Orbit (GEO)28 Apr, 2016
IRNSS-1FGeostationary Orbit (GEO)10 Mar, 2016
IRNSS-1EGeosynchronous Orbit (IGSO)20 Jan, 2016
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IRNSS-1CGeostationary Orbit (GEO)16 Oct, 2014
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IRNSS-1AInclined Geosynchronous Orbit (IGSO)01 Jul, 2013