MSG-3’s SEVIRI instrument readied for operations

The straylight tests - 15-minute scans of the sun – were conducted to evaluate the impact of stray solar light on the instrument’s optics with SEVIRI in a nominal scanning pattern.

THURSDAY 13 September 2012

Decontamination involved melting the ice accumulated on the cold optics and detectors, which adversely affects the instrument’s performance.

SEVIRI decontamination heaters were switched on to decontaminate the instrument on 5 September. This process, including a post-heating cool-down phase (after heaters are switched off), continued until 8 September.

On 9 September, SEVIRI imaging and calibrations restarted, and, on 10 September, the instrument’s imaging performance was optimised following decontamination.

On 11 September, a test was conducted in which SEVIRI performed 2.5-minute rapid scans for 24 hours. SEVIRI imaging will now (from 13 September) be conducted as if MSG-3 were in routine operations so imaging performance and meteorological product extraction can be optimised before the decision can be made to deploy MSG-3 in operations.

Last Updated: 19 September, 2012 8:59