SPACE AND DEFENSE SYSTEMS

Addressing Global Challenges with Proven Space Optics Excellence

Turning Space-Based Measurements into Mission-Critical Insight

 

For more than 50 years, ABB has been a trusted leader in space optics, delivering high performance remote sensing instruments that help government agencies and the rapidly expanding commercial space sector capture reliable data and support critical decision-making.

 

Space offers a unique advantage, enabling a single sensor to deliver consistent, global insights day after day. To realize this vision, customers rely on ABB for optical measurements that perform with precision in one of the harshest environments imaginable. Guided by decades of flight heritage and engineering excellence, our sensors monitor the Earth’s surface, track atmospheric change, improve weather forecasting, strengthen security and enable exploration far beyond our planet for the benefit of all.

WHY CHOOSE ABB SPACE AND DEFENSE SYSTEMS

Innovation Savvy

<p>Our realizations set technology benchmarks in orbit, from the richest spectrum (SCISAT FTS) and highest pixel rate imager (EarthDaily constellation) to NASA's most sensitive camera (ROMAN CGI).&nbsp;</p>

Flexibility

<p>Trusted by government space agencies for decades and increasingly selected by commercial space innovators, ABB delivers solutions tailored to your mission requirements, qualification standards and budget.&nbsp; &nbsp;</p>

Reliability through Quality

<p>Committing to never achieved performance with dependability for years in orbit requires expertise depth and a quality-oriented mindset. Our reliability track record in orbit since 1999 is rich with more than 140 custom systems deployed and 4 billion scans performed by our precision mechanism without failure.&nbsp;</p>

Trusted partner

<p>As part of a century-old Fortune 500 company present in 133 countries, ABB combines global stability with industry leading integrity standards. Technology innovation can be a complex journey where dependable partners reveal their true value.</p>

HOW WE HELP OUR CUSTOMERS

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Satellite payloads

  • Complete satellite payloads:
        - From UV to far-IR
        - From panchromatic to hyperspectral (>100k channels)
        - Wide-field and sub-meter imaging from LEO to GEO
  • Long integration to kHz imagery
  • Photon counting to sun measurements
  • Sub-kelvin absolute radiance calibration

Satellite technologies

  • Low straylight telescopes
  • Precision mechanisms (scene scanning, fine pointing, flip-in and shutters)
  • Interferometers, gratings and filters
  • Radiometric calibration sources
  • Detectors and electronics
  • Onboard processing

Contract manufacturing

ABB can productize your prototype and help scale it from early-stage builds to high-volume production, while meeting your exacting standards.

Mission concept and Engineering services

  • Conceptual design, performance simulation & cost estimation
  • Space qualification of novel technologies
  • Prototypes, ground validation, airborne and balloon-borne demonstrators

OUR PRODUCTS

<p><b>SPACEBORNE EQUIPMENT</b></p>

LEMI multispectral imaging payload series

<ul> <li>Earth observation imaging payloads operating in pushbroom or scene-staring mode</li> <li>Near-diffraction-limited performance with apertures from 20cm to 500cm</li> <li>Available in three spectral ranges:<br> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;- VNIR<br> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;- SWIR<br> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;- Thermal IR</li> <li>Up to 10 customizable spectral bands in pushbroom mode</li> </ul>

LUMI space domain awareness payload series

<ul> <li>SDA imagers operating in staring mode</li> <li>Track objects and protect spaceborne assets in LEO and GEO</li> <li>Available in VNIR and Thermal IR ranges</li> <li>0.2 arcsec measurement accuracy</li> </ul>

ICAS flight infrared calibration source series

<ul> <li>Space-qualified infrared calibration sources&nbsp;</li> <li>Available in cavity form for the highest emissivity as well as compact textured plates</li> <li>mK thermometry accuracy</li> </ul>

<p><b>GROUND/FIELD EQUIPMENT</b></p>

MR infrared spectroradiometer series

<ul> <li>The most trusted hyperspectral radiometer in the field</li> <li>Covers 1-15 µm spectral range with 1cm-1 resolution</li> <li>Up to 107 spectra per second</li> <li>0.28 to 6.3 degrees field of view</li> </ul>

AERI atmospheric profiler series

<ul> <li>Generates temperature and moisture profiles from the ground up to 3 km, with vertical resolution of 100 m</li> <li>Unattended 24/7 profile measurements every 8 minutes</li> </ul>

OEM infrared spectrometer kit

<ul> <li>Space-qualified Fourier transform spectrometer</li> <li>Covers 1-20 µm spectral range with 1cm-1 resolution</li> <li>Affordable building blocks to create prototypes and demonstrators</li> </ul>

RELATED VIDEOS

HIGHLIGHTS AND NEWS

ABB’s advanced space technology shines as EarthDaily releases first high precision images

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ABB secures Canadian Space Agency contract to develop climate instrument

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ABB and HEMERIA collaborate to advance the monitoring of space

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ABB infrared camera on Hydrosat satellite delivers strong results and is set to enhance water scarcity insights with next launch

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European Space Agency’s Harmony mission to rely on ABB infrared instruments

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ABB to add optical sensors to four more GHGSat greenhouse gas monitoring satellites

Press release