Teledyne Technologies (NYSE: TDY) said its Teledyne Space Imaging division supplied critical detector components for two European Space Agency (ESA) climate-monitoring satellites that launched aboard a Vega C rocket from French Guiana.
The company provided five CCD55-20 detectors for the Ocean and Land Colour Instrument aboard Sentinel-3C, the third satellite in ESA's Sentinel-3 series. The back-illuminated, frame-transfer CCDs are designed for hyperspectral imaging across the visible to near-infrared spectrum from 0.4 to 1.04 micrometers and will be used to map ocean color, vegetation cover, and land use. Sentinel-3C is expected to replace Sentinel-3A once commissioned; that satellite launched in 2016, with Sentinel-3B following in 2018.
Teledyne also supplied three CCD325 detectors for the Fluorescence Imaging Spectrometer on the Fluorescence Explorer (FLEX) mission. Those sensors image in the 0.5-to-0.78-micrometer spectral range to measure fluorescent signals emitted by plants during photosynthesis. The data will support measurements of plant photosynthetic efficiency, ecosystem health and stress levels, carbon dioxide absorption, and interactions with carbon and water cycles.
Sentinel-3C operates under the Copernicus Earth-observation program, with instruments designed by ESA and operations handled by EUMETSAT. FLEX will similarly feed into climate and environmental monitoring efforts.
Teledyne Space Imaging has participated in more than 250 space projects and manufactures CCD, CMOS, and infrared detectors for agencies including NASA, JAXA, and KASA.
Shares of Teledyne Technologies trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker TDY.
