e2v and Astrium Sign a EUR 2.8M Contract for e2v to Supply Imaging Sensors to Equip the Sentinel 4 Satellite

TOKYO--(Marketwired - Aug 14, 2013) - e2v, a leading global provider of high performance imaging solutions, has signed a contract worth EUR 2.8M with Astrium, Europe's leading space technology company. e2v will supply imaging sensors to equip the European Space Agency's (ESA) Sentinel 4 Ultraviolet Visible Near-infrared (UVN) instrument, which will gather data on the quality of the Earth's atmosphere and its chemical composition from geostationary orbit.

Sentinel 4 is part of the Global Monitoring for Environment and Security (GMES) initiative, which is a joint undertaking of the European Commission and the European Space Agency. It will deliver environmental and security services in Europe, in response to the ever-increasing demands for effective environmental policies. ESA is responsible for the Space component of GMES, of which the five families of Sentinel missions are key components. Within this programme, Sentinel 4 will be carried into orbit onboard the Meteosat Third Generation (MTG) geostationary satellite and enable seamless observations of Europe and North Africa to be taken hourly.

e2v's space qualified, custom Charge Coupled Device (CCDs) image sensors will be produced using cutting edge technologies, including back illumination, which delivers the best Quantum Efficiency (QE) and Modulation Transfer Function (MTF) over the wavelength range of interest for this hyperspectral imaging system. The sensors are mounted in an e2v designed package assembly which manages the electrical, thermal, mechanical and optical interfaces to the instrument. The contract is carried out with funding from the European Union.

Hans Faulks, General Manager High Performances Imaging at e2v, said, "e2v is delighted to sign this contract with Astrium. It demonstrates how e2v's imaging technology for Earth observation applications is well recognised and adds to more than 100 Earth observation programmes running with our high performance imaging sensors."

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This document has been produced with the financial assistance of the European Union. The views expressed herein can in no way be taken to reflect the official opinion of the European Union and/or ESA.

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About e2v
e2v is a leading global provider of specialist technology for high performance systems and equipment; delivering solutions, sub-systems and components for applications within medical & science, aerospace & defence, and commercial & industrial markets.

e2v employs approximately 1600 people, has design and operational facilities across Europe, North America and Asia, and has a global network of sales and technical support offices. e2v has annual sales of GBP200m and is listed on the London Stock Exchange.