OHB wins 554 million euro ESA contract for Sentinel-3 Next Generation satellites
ESA tapped OHB to build two Sentinel-3 Next Generation Topography radar-altimetry satellites, with an option for a third.
what happened
OHB SE said ESA awarded it a contract worth over 554 million euros to develop Sentinel-3 Next Generation Topography (S3-NGT), a radar-altimetry mission for the Copernicus Earth observation program, with OHB as prime contractor leading a European industrial consortium, per an OHB regulatory disclosure and Weser-Kurier. The contract covers two identical satellites in sun-synchronous orbit, with an option for a third, carrying a new Ka-band wide-swath radar altimeter that extends Copernicus sea-level monitoring to rivers, lakes and coastal zones for the first time; unlike the current Sentinel-3 satellites, S3-NGT separates the radar altimetry instruments onto their own dedicated spacecraft. OHB CEO Marco Fuchs said the award is "proof of ESA's confidence in OHB's expertise and the capabilities of European space industry."
why it matters
The contract extends OHB's run of large ESA satellite-prime awards (IRIS2, Argonaut lunar sensors) and keeps Copernicus altimetry work, previously bundled with optical instruments on Sentinel-3, flowing to European industry; the dedicated radar design is a data point for ground-segment and ocean/hydrology data customers on what coverage and revisit improvements the mission will bring.