Thales selects Celestia STS for CRISTAL PTF-SS EGSE

Thales Alenia Space selected Celestia STS PTF-SS EGSE for Copernicus CRISTAL Mission spacecraft.

In the frame of the contract C-STS will deliver 3 Platform Sub-system (PTF-SS) EGSE systems. The main purpose of the EGSE is to simulate the CRISTAL satellite platform digital interfaces towards the primary instrument (IRIS).

This is a continuation of a number of similar EGSEs provided by Celestia in the frame of the CryoSAT, Sentinel-3 and JASON-CS programmes. There are very significant similarities compared to the previous PTF-SS EGSEs however on this generation of the Altimeter instrument, the science data interface has changed from SpaceWire to WizardLink.Although the discrete interface types, quantities and functionality are similar to previous generations, this time round they will be supported on a small MPIP Platform.

About Copernicus CRISTASL Mission

Copernicus is the European Union's Earth Observation Programme, looking at our planet and its environment for the benefit of Europe's citizens.

With a launch planned in 2027, the Copernicus Polar Ice and Snow Topography Altimeter, CRISTAL, mission will carry, for the first time, a dual-frequency radar altimeter, and microwave radiometer, that will measure and monitor sea-ice thickness, overlying snow depth and ice-sheet elevations. These data will support maritime operations in the polar oceans and contribute to a better understanding of climate processes. CRISTAL will also support applications related to coastal and inland waters, as well as providing observations of ocean topography.