• ABB will develop a high-resolution infrared interferometer system to enhance L3Harris’ upcoming atmospheric sounder.
• The interferometric technology on Japan’s Himawari-10 satellite, developed by Mitsubishi Electric, will create 3D maps of temperature and humidity across the Asia-Pacific region.
• Thanks to ABB’s interferometer technology, the data gathered by the new sounder will be over 100 times richer than what is available today.

L3Harris Technologies (NYSE: LHX), a prominent US defense firm, has contracted ABB to create and build a high-resolution infrared interferometer system for L3Harris’ next-generation hyperspectral infrared (IR) sounder. This system will be onboard the Himawari-10 satellite, built by Mitsubishi Electric in Japan, and will map the Earth’s atmosphere in 3D for 10 years, focusing on the Asia-Pacific region.

The L3Harris sounder will operate from a geostationary orbit at an altitude of 36,000 km. This will assist the Japan Meteorological Agency in improving the prediction of extreme weather events’ trajectories and intensities and extend its long-term forecasts. With a 30-minute revisit capability, it will significantly increase the quantity and quality of information used in weather prediction models compared to current data sources.

Atmospheric sounders are advanced optical instruments that measure the physical properties of air masses, such as temperature, humidity, and movement, which drive weather patterns. The majority of digital data that supercomputers process for daily and hourly weather forecasts comes from infrared and microwave sounders. While Low Earth Orbit (LEO) weather satellites can map the entire globe, they only refresh data twice a day, resulting in a temporal coverage gap. In contrast, geostationary (GEO) weather satellites remain stationary over the equator, enabling them to monitor weather pattern evolution with much better refresh rates. However, due to their distance, GEO satellites cannot deploy microwave sounders, making infrared sounders the only instruments capable of capturing real-time 3D weather data.

“Hyperspectral IR sounders, first introduced in 2011 on the joint NASA/NOAA NPP satellite, have transformed weather forecasting,” said Dr. Frederic Grandmont, Space Technology and Business Development Manager at ABB Measurement & Analytics. “Himawari-10 is set to significantly improve forecasting accuracy for Japan, the Asia-Pacific region, and globally, especially as long-term 14-day forecasts are interconnected worldwide.”

This new agreement builds upon a previous supply deal between ABB and L3Harris, under which ABB provided six interferometers for the US low Earth polar orbiting weather satellites’ Cross-track Infrared Sounder (CrIS) series launched since 2011.

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