On Thursday it was in the French overseas department French Guiana a new one Weather satellite called “Meteosat Third Generation Imager-2”. He was stationed at an altitude of around 36,000 kilometers. In the future, it will deliver high-resolution images of Europe and thus provide more precise data for weather forecasts and warnings. With the help of the new information, storms such as heavy rain should be detected earlier and the population warned of extreme events in good time.
Important components for this come from Lower Austria Triestingtal. The multi-layer thermal insulation for the Meteosat satellites is produced at the Beyond Gravity plant in Berndorf (Baden district) manufactured. It consists of several layers of ultra-thin special polyimide films and protects the sensitive satellite technology from the extreme temperature conditions in space.
Thermal protection from Berndorf
The isolation is intended to protect the satellites Temperature fluctuations from around minus 200 to plus 200 degrees Celsius. “In the vacuum of space, our thermal protection has the insulating effect of a meter-thick brick wall”, says Wolfgang PawlinetzManaging Director and Head of Thermal and Mechanism Business at Beyond Gravity Austria. Not only the parts of the weather satellite, but also those of the Ariane 6 launch vehicle come from Berndorf. The company from Lower Austria supplied this High temperature insulationas well as for part of the engine.
Camera protection from Vienna
Important technology for space travel also comes from Vienna: at the Vienna location Beyond Gravity Austria became a big one Camera cover developed that works like a sun visor. This protects the sensitive camera from contamination during the rocket launch. In space, the cover opens once and is then locked in the open position.
In addition, the company delivered Refocusing mechanismswhich ensure that the optical instruments can focus precisely again after the strong shocks during takeoff.