The European Space Agency has commissioned German space company OHB to develop the next generation of Sentinel-3 topography satellites for the European Union’s Copernicus Earth-observation programme. OHB announced the contract on Wednesday in Bremen.
The order is valued at more than €554 million, with an option for a second satellite. OHB shares moved into positive territory and were most recently up 5%.
Two Sentinel-3 satellites currently monitor the topography of the ocean and ice surfaces, as well as the temperature and colour of sea and land surfaces. OHB said the next-generation instruments will be divided differently to improve the results. The measurements are intended to support informed decisions on environmental and climate protection by policymakers, researchers, businesses and the public.
Sources: Handelsblatt.