Objectives and Applications
Harmony will be dedicated to the observation and quantification of small scale motion and deformation (velocity gradient) fields, primarily, at the air-sea interface (winds, waves, and surface currents, including measurements over extreme events), of the solid Earth (tectonic strain), and in the cryosphere (glacier flows and surface height changes).
Primary mission objectives:
1. Air-sea interaction, tropical and extra-tropical cyclones, and ocean mesoscale and submesoscale processes;
2. Tectonic strain; and
3. Glacier and ice-sheet mass balance and glacier dynamics.
Harmony will make significant contributions to other science domains, including volcanoes, permafrost, landslides and several sea-ice objectives. The space segment will consist of two companion satellites to Sentinel-1, each carrying a receive-only SAR instrument, complemented by a TIR payload. The companion satellites fly in two different configurations with Sentinel-1. In the stereo configuration, one companion is leading and the other is trailing Sentinel-1. The optimum distance to Sentinel-1 (stereo baseline) is determined from a complex trade-off on the performance of both instruments. One of the strongest drivers is the improved viewing geometry associated with large squint angles and both concepts therefore use a long baseline (350 km for Concept A and 400 km for Concept B).
Full Name
Harmony-A and -B
Mission Status
Approved
Mission Agencies
Launch Date
Dec 2029
Mission Links
EOL Date
Dec 2034
Orbit Type
Sun-synchronous
Orbit Period
98.74 minutes
Orbit Sense
Ascending
Orbit Inclination
98.19 deg
Orbit Altitude
693 km
Orbit Longitude
Orbit LST
18:00
Repeat Cycle
12 days
NORAD Catalog #
International Designator
Multiview Thermal-Infared - Multiview Thermal-Infared |
| Passive Synthetic Aperture Radar - Passive Synthetic Aperture Radar |