In 2015, microwave engineering firm, Flann Microwave, was chosen by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) to supply vital {hardware} for the high-resolution, radar parts on a brand new, multinational satellite tv for pc — the Floor Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) satellite tv for pc is the first-of-its-kind to survey the floor water on Earth, observe ocean floor topography in addition to measure the modifications in these our bodies of water over time.
Launched on December sixteenth from Vandenberg Air Power Base in California aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, the SWOT satellite tv for pc is collectively developed and managed by NASA, the French Area Company, the Canadian Area Company, and the UK Area Company.
Following JPL’s earlier adoption of Flann Microwave’s high-precision check and measurement product vary, the SWOT is the primary collaborative spaceflight undertaking between Flann and NASA. As a result of vital efficiency necessities of the undertaking, Flann labored in shut collaboration with the engineers at JPL to develop custom-made, waveguide gear for spaceflight operations.
Flann’s waveguide gear was designed to face up to the trials of spaceflight and assist present larger accuracy and precision measurements of Earth’s lakes, rivers, reservoirs and oceans, in addition to mapping ocean floor top, in higher element than earlier measurement methods.
Flann’s uniquely-designed microwave parts can be put in on the satellite tv for pc forward of launch and linked to NASA’s high-resolution state-of-the-art radar interferometry methods to assist precisely measure Earth’s floor water, climate and local weather predictions, and help in freshwater administration.
Tamlin Pavelsky, the SWOT Science Group Lead (2022-2024), mentioned, “SWOT will usher in a brand new golden age for the science of rivers and lakes. Proper now, we are able to measure how the quantity of water in lakes and reservoirs modifications for a number of thousand lakes worldwide. With SWOT, we’ll have the ability to observe thousands and thousands, […] assist[ing] us to know altering dangers from flooding, alternatives for sustainable water use, and the basic natures of those necessary pure methods.”
Sam Brokenshire, Technical Gross sales Supervisor at Flann Microwave, mentioned, “The house market is presently rising exponentially. At this second in time, the house marketplace for Flann accounts for lower than 5% of present tasks […] however we may very well be seeing this worth improve considerably over simply the following few years.”
Since 1956, Flann Microwave has been a market-leading designer and producer of precision microwave parts, check and measurement merchandise, and communications gear. Primarily based in Cornwall, UK, Flann’s purpose-built manufacturing facility has been instrumental in efficiently designing and implementing a spread of high-quality waveguide options for flight {hardware}. Flann’s status, high quality, reliability, and efficiency of its merchandise has just lately made it a rising a part of the worldwide house trade.
