MetOp-SG MicroWave Imager (MWI) Instrument – On Ground Support Equipment (OGSE)

This project aims at the development of the on-ground calibration targets for the MicroWave Imager instrument of the MetOp-Second Generation Program. MWI is a conically scanning microwave radiometer, providing a total number of 26 channels  (including  dual  polarisation  channels) between 18  GHz  and  183 GHz. The on-ground calibration targets are microwave test targets used to verify the instrument radiometric performance. They consist in millimeter-wave loads that simulate a black body at either fixed or variable temperatures; the aim is to simulate the Cold Sky and the Earth brightness temperatures. Two kinds of reference targets are required: i) ambient targets at fixed temperature for ambient test, used to give references to characterize the radiometric gain of the Instrument: ii) thermal-vacuum targets used to simulate the Cold Sky at fixed temperature and the Earth at variable temperature, to characterize the radiometric performances of the Instrument.