ALTIUS

ALTIUS logo

Mission type| Earth Observation
Operator| European Space Agency
Website| https://www.esa.int/Applications/Observing_the_Earth/Altius
Mission duration| >3 years (design lifetime)
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft| ALTIUS
Bus| PROBA
Manufacturer| QinetiQ Space
Launch mass| 266 kilograms (586 lb)[1]
Dry mass| 254 kilograms (560 lb)[1]
Start of mission
Launch date| 2027 (2027) (planned)
Rocket| Vega-C
Launch site| Kourou ELV
Contractor| Arianespace
Orbital parameters
Reference system| Sun-synchronous orbit
Regime| Low Earth
Altitude| ≈668 km[1]
Repeat interval| 3 days[1]
Main payload
Name| ALTIUS instrument
Type| Multi-channel tuneable spectral imager
Wavelengths| UV: 250-355 nm (tuneable)
VIS: 440-675 nm (tuneable)
NIR 600-1020 nm (tuneable)[1]
Resolution| 1 to 3 km (vertically)[1]

ALTIUS BISA logo

General Support Technology Programme (GSTP)

<- HENON

e.Inspector ->

ALTIUS (Atmospheric Limb Tracker for Investigation of the Upcoming Stratosphere) is a satellite mission proposed by the Belgian Institute for Space Aeronomy and currently under development by the European Space Agency (ESA). Its main objective is to monitor the distribution and evolution of stratospheric ozone in the Earth's atmosphere.[2][3][4] The mission is scheduled for launch in 2027 from the Guiana Space Centre on Vega-C.[5][6][7]

## Contents

* 1 Background
* 2 Timeline
* 3 See also
* 4 References
* 5 External links

## Background

The industrial consortium is led by QinetiQ Space (now Redwire Space[8]), acting as mission prime.[9][3] The satellite design is based on the PROBA small satellite bus.[2] The payload, developed by OIP Sensor Systems, is an innovative UV, visible, and NIR instrument.[10] The satellite is primarily funded by Belgium, with additional support from Canada, Luxembourg, and Romania.[11]

## Timeline

* In January 2020, ESA has awarded a contract, worth €75 million, to QinetiQ Space (now Redwire Space[8]) to build the satellite.[12][13]
* In January 2022, ESA signed a contract with Arianespace for the joint launch of ALTIUS and FLEX on Vega-C.[14]
* In July 2025, Redwire has completed the assembly of ALTIUS' satellite platform at their facilities in Belgium.[15]
* In March 2026, Redwire successfully tested the deployment of the satellite's solar panels.[11]

## See also

* List of European Space Agency programs and missions
* List of Earth observation satellites
* PROBA

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 "Altius". ESA. https://www.esa.int/Applications/Observing_the_Earth/Altius.
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Fussen, Didier; Dekemper, Emmanuel; Errera, Quentin; Franssens, Ghislain; Mateshvili, Nina; Pieroux, Didier; Vanhellemont, Filip (3 August 2016). "The ALTIUS Mission". Atmospheric Measurement Techniques Discussions: 1–40. doi:10.5194/amt-2016-213.
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "First ALTIUS Symposium". Belgian Institute for Space Aeronomy. 2017-05-02. https://events.oma.be/indico/event/20/page/0.
4. ↑ "Earth Observation Programmes". European Space Agency. 2016. https://www.esa.int/About_Us/Ministerial_Council_2016/Earth_Observation_Programmes. "ALTIUS: Develop and operate a small mission dedicated to the operational monitoring of stratospheric ozone profiles."
5. ↑ "ALTIUS - ESA's ozone mission". ESA. https://www.esa.int/Applications/Observing_the_Earth/Altius.
6. ↑ "ALTIUS ozone mission’s satellite platform assembled" (in en). https://www.esa.int/Applications/Observing_the_Earth/Altius/ALTIUS_ozone_mission_s_satellite_platform_assembled.
7. ↑ "The launch" (in en). https://www.esa.int/Applications/Observing_the_Earth/Altius/The_launch.
8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Jewett, Rachel (2022-10-03). "Redwire to Acquire Belgian Firm QinetiQ Space NV" (in en-US). https://www.satellitetoday.com/finance/2022/10/03/redwire-to-acquire-belgian-firm-qinetiq-space-nv/.
9. ↑ Henry, Caleb (27 January 2020). "QinetiQ to build ozone-monitoring satellite for European Space Agency". SpaceNews. https://spacenews.com/qinetiq-to-build-ozone-monitoring-satellite-for-european-space-agency/.
10. ↑ "ALTIUS". http://www.oip.be/en/detail_66.aspx.
11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 "Testing ozone-monitoring satellite’s solar wings" (in en). https://www.esa.int/Applications/Observing_the_Earth/Altius/Testing_ozone-monitoring_satellite_s_solar_wings.
12. ↑ "Contract secures build of ozone-monitoring Altius satellite" (in en). https://www.esa.int/Applications/Observing_the_Earth/Altius/Contract_secures_build_of_ozone-monitoring_Altius_satellite.
13. ↑ Henry, Caleb (2020-01-27). "QinetiQ to build ozone-monitoring satellite for European Space Agency" (in en-US). SpaceNews. https://spacenews.com/qinetiq-to-build-ozone-monitoring-satellite-for-european-space-agency/.
14. ↑ "Ride into space on Vega-C secured for FLEX and Altius" (in en). https://www.esa.int/Applications/Observing_the_Earth/FutureEO/FLEX/Ride_into_space_on_Vega-C_secured_for_FLEX_and_Altius.
15. ↑ "ALTIUS ozone mission’s satellite platform assembled" (in en). https://www.esa.int/Applications/Observing_the_Earth/Altius/ALTIUS_ozone_mission_s_satellite_platform_assembled.

## External links

* "ALTIUS" (in en). European Space Agency. 2020. https://www.esa.int/Applications/Observing_the_Earth/Altius.
* "ALTIUS" (in en). Belgian Institute for Space Aeronomy. 2018. http://altius.oma.be/index.php.
* "ALTIUS va analyser la partie haute de l'atmosphère" (in fr). European Space Agency. 13 May 2017. https://www.esa.int/fre/ESA_in_your_country/Belgium_-_Francais/ALTIUS_va_analyser_la_partie_haute_de_l_atmosphere.
* "ALTIUS gaat hogere aardatmosfeer bestuderen" (in nl-be). European Space Agency. 9 May 2017. https://www.esa.int/dut/ESA_in_your_country/Belgium_-_Nederlands/ALTIUS_gaat_hogere_aardatmosfeer_bestuderen.
* "ALTIUS" (in en). OIP Sensor Systems. 2017. http://www.oip.be/en/detail_66.aspx.
* "ALTIUS" (in en). BelSPo. 11 June 2018. https://eo.belspo.be/en/altius.

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European Space Agency

| Spaceports|

* Guiana Space Centre
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Predecessors|

* European Launcher Development Organisation
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Related topics|

* Arianespace
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Projects and missions

Science|

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Astronomy and
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ISS spaceflight|

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Telecommunications|

* GEOS 2 (1978)
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Technology
demonstrators

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* IXV (2015)
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Cancelled and proposed|

* ALTIUS
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Failed|

* Cluster
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Future missions in italics

* Category
* Commons
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Future spaceflights

Crewed|

| 2020|

* Soyuz MS-16 (April)
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|

2021|

* Gaganyaan Crewed Flight 1
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2022|

* Artemis 2

2023+|

* #dearMoon project (2023)
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Robotic|

| 2020|

* AFSPC-7
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* Space Complex Alpha
* TARANIS

|

2021|

* Aditya-L1
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* Nova-C (July)
* PROBA-3 (Q2)
* PTScientists
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* UN/Dream Chaser
* Wentian
* XPoSat

2022|

* Biomass (October)
* DESTINY+
* EarthCARE (June)
* Euclid (June)
* HTV-X1
* JUICE (June)
* KPLO (July)
* MetOp-SG Series A
* NISAR (September)
* Power and Propulsion Element (December)
* Prichal
* Psyche (August)
* PUNCH / TRACERS
* Soyuz GVK-1
* SpaceX Starship (1st Mars departure)
* TEREX-1
* Weather System Follow-on Microwave
* XRISM / SLIM (January)

2023|

* Chang'e 7
* Hakuto-R M2 (March)
* MetOp-SG Series B
* QZS-5
* QZS-6
* QZS-7
* Shukrayaan-1
* SMILE
* SPHEREx

2024+|

* Chang'e 6 (2023 or 2024)
* FLEX
* GOES-U (2024)
* Hera / APEX / Juventas (October 2024)
* IMAP / SWFO-L1 (October 2024)
* Luna 26 (2024)
* MMX (September 2024)
* MOM 2 (2024)
* Small-JASMINE (2024)
* ZhengHe (2024)
* Europa Clipper (2025)
* Luna 27 (2025)
* Luna 28 (2025+)
* Spektr-UV (2025)
* Dragonfly (2026)
* PLATO (2026)
* Venera-D (2026 or 2031)
* Chang'e 8 (2027)
* LiteBIRD (2027)
* ARIEL / Comet Interceptor]] (2028)
* ATHENA (2031)
* LISA (2034)

TBA|

* Energia-100
* Europa Lander (2025?)
* KiwiSAT
* Lybid 1
* Nano-JASMINE
* Near-Earth Object Surveillance Mission
* WFIRST (mid-2020s)

Recently
launched|

* Progress MS-13 (6 December)
* Jilin-1 Gaofen-02B (7 December)
* HEAD-2A / 2B (7 December)
* GLONASS-M List of GLONASS satellites

* List of proposed missions to the Moon
* List of proposed space observatories

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