Sensor electronics acquired temperatures in the upper atmosphere from space successfully

Jülich, January 18, 2019 - In December 2018, a rocket was launched from the Jiuquan Space Station in northwest China. Also on board: a satellite to test a new broadband internet communication system and the spectrometer "AtmoSHINE". Developed by atmospheric physicists and electronics engineers of Forschungszentrum Jülich and University of Wuppertal, the spectrometer is designed to measure temperatures in the upper atmosphere. Meanwhile, the satellite has reached the orbit at an altitude of 1100 kilometers. After a commissioning phase, it is clear: the spectrometer works perfectly even under harsh space conditions. First measurement data has already been downloaded and is currently being evaluated. They serve for improved climate modeling.

The sensor electronics developed by the scientists and engineers of the Jülich Central Institute for Engineering, Electronics and Analytics, - Systems of Electronics (ZEA-2) represents the central data acquisition and communication system in the miniaturized spectrometer AtmoSHINE. It is based on a concept that was successfully tested in March 2017 as part of the REXUS program on a sounding rocket under near-space conditions.

Systemintegrationstests des Engineering-Models
Electronics integration inside clean room
Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH

The development, integration and qualification of the components were carried out completely in-house. The scientists and engineers headed by Prof. Stefan van Waasen, together with their colleagues from IEK-7 and the physicists from Wuppertal, had just under a year to build and test the new instrument. "We have developed a completely re-configurable measuring system based on state-of-the-art technologies in a very short time, which will allow us to qualify it for further missions and to open up new areas of application," says Stefan van Waasen. The sensor electronics are designed that the most several types of sensors, detectors or cameras can be acquired and controlled. In addition, the modular concept offers the possibility to easily adapt the electronics to the requirements and interfaces of Small satellites (e.g CubeSats).

Qualifizierung des Instruments in der EMV-Kammer
Electronics verification test inside EMC chamber
Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH

Further informations:

Pressemitteilung des FZJ vom 18. Januar 2019
Institut für Energie- und Klimaforschung, Bereich Stratosphäre (IEK-7)

Contact:

Tom Neubert
Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH
Zentralinstitut für Engineering, Elektronik und Analytik
ZEA-2 - Systeme der Elektronik
Projekte und Applikationen - Messsysteme

Phone: +49 2461 61 8829
Fax: +49 2461 61 3990
Email: t.neubert@fz-juelich.de

Last Modified: 28.06.2022