SOVA-S (Satellite Observation of Waves in the Atmosphere – Scout) is a future European atmospheric science satellite under development by the European Space Agency's FutureEO programme for Earth observation.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7] Its objective is to study atmospheric gravity waves at an altitude between 80 and 120 km in order to improve climate and space weather modelling.[8] To do this, the satellite will measure airglow using two shortwave infrared imagers.[9][10][11][12]

Background

The mission's primary contractor is the Czech company OHB Czechspace and major subcontractors are the German companies Berlin Space Technologies and OHB System.[3][13] The mission's science team is led by the German Aerospace Center (DLR).[3][14]

History

The mission was originally proposed by OHB Czechspace as "SOVA" in 2023 for the "Czech Ambitious Missions" cooperation between ESA and Czechia.[15][16][17] It was not selected (the selected missions were AMBIC and QUVIK), but the committee recommended it as a backup.[18][19] In June 2025, SOVA-S was selected by ESA alongside three other missions out of nine Scout mission proposals for further study.[20] SOVA-S was selected for implementation, together with another proposal named Hibidis, in May 2026.[21][22][23] The signing of the mission's development contract is expected by the end of 2026,[24] mission implementation phase is expected to start in January 2027[3] and the satellite is expected to launch in 2030.[25][23]

See also

References

  1. ^ Wüst, Sabine; Schall, Alexander; Stöffelmair, Ulrike; Bittner, Michael (2026). "Measurements of Atmospheric Dynamics from Space: SOVA-S, an ESA SCOUT mission candidate". EGU26. doi:10.5194/egusphere-egu26-10529. Retrieved 2026-05-20.
  2. ^ "SOVA-S Mission: OHB Czechspace Team Succeeds in Prestigious ESA Scout Program". www.czechspacealliance.eu. Retrieved 2026-05-20.
  3. ^ a b c d "SOVA-S". OHB Czechspace. 2026-04-22. Retrieved 2026-05-20.
  4. ^ společnost, Česká astronomická (2025-06-30). "Mise SOVA-S vybrána jako jeden z nejlepších projektů v prestižním programu ESA Scout". ČAS (in Czech). Retrieved 2026-05-20.
  5. ^ "Český satelitní obr SOVA-S je o krok blíže k cestě do vesmíru, zkoumat by měl klima - Novinky". www.novinky.cz (in Czech). 2025-06-27. Retrieved 2026-05-20.
  6. ^ "Česká SOVA pro lepší předpovědi počasí dosáhla dalšího důležitého milníku". www.proelektrotechniky.cz. Retrieved 2026-05-20.
  7. ^ Dickinson, David (2026-05-29). "ESA Selects Two New Scout-Class Missions". Universe Today. Retrieved 2026-05-29.
  8. ^ Gorman, Douglas (2026-05-21). "ESA Approves Two Scout Science Missions". Payload. Retrieved 2026-05-21.
  9. ^ "Satellite mission proposal "SOVA-S" finalized". www.dlr.de. Retrieved 2026-05-20.
  10. ^ "Prestižní program ESA Scout ocenil českou misi SOVA-S – Kosmonautix.cz" (in Czech). Retrieved 2026-05-20.
  11. ^ "Four new candidate Scout missions". www.esa.int. Retrieved 2026-05-20.
  12. ^ "První mise pod českým vedením uspěla ve výběrovém řízení Evropské kosmické agentury. SOVA-S míří k realizaci | MPO". mpo.gov.cz. Retrieved 2026-05-20.
  13. ^ "BST is proud to be part of the SOVA-S mission…". LinkedIn. Retrieved 2026-05-20.
  14. ^ "Satellit SOVA-S: Augsburger Projekt im Finale eines ESA-Weltraumprogramms". www.uni-a.de. Retrieved 2026-05-20.
  15. ^ "The Czech space mission SOVA has the support of foreign scientists. Data from the largest Czech satellite would have global impact". OHB Czechspace. Retrieved 2026-05-20.
  16. ^ "Mise SOVA chce být největší českou družicí v historii - Akademie věd České republiky". www.avcr.cz. Retrieved 2026-05-20.
  17. ^ "Česká družicová mise SOVA pomůže zpřesnit předpovědi extrémního počasí". OHB Czechspace (in Czech). Retrieved 2026-05-20.
  18. ^ s.r.o, Titio. "The Czech Republic will have two separate space missions: AMBIC and QUVIK". md.gov.cz. Retrieved 2026-05-20.
  19. ^ "Czech Ambitious Missions to be launched with support from ESA BIC Czech Republic Alumni Startups". www.esa-bic.cz. Retrieved 2026-05-20.
  20. ^ "Four new candidate Scout missions". www.esa.int. Retrieved 2026-05-20.
  21. ^ "Greenlight for next two ESA Scout missions". www.esa.int. Retrieved 2026-05-20.
  22. ^ Vitetta, Stefano (2026-05-20). "ESA lancia due nuove missioni Scout: Hibidis e SOVA-S per biodiversità e atmosfera". MeteoWeb (in Italian). Retrieved 2026-05-20.
  23. ^ a b "MPO: První mise pod českým vedením uspěla ve výběrovém řízení ESA. SOVA-S míří k realizaci". BusinessInfo.cz (in Czech). Retrieved 2026-05-20.
  24. ^ Parsonson, Andrew (2026-05-29). "ESA Greenlights Two Budget-Friendly Earth Observation Missions". European Spaceflight. Retrieved 2026-05-29.
  25. ^ Czech scientific satellite mission SOVA-S enters final evaluation by European Space Agency. Poised to take a leading role in global research on atmospheric gravity waves (archived)


source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SOVA-S