SpaceTech Solar Arrays for ESA’s CRISTAL Mission

SpaceTech has reached an important milestone in its contribution to ESA’s Copernicus Polar Ice and Snow Topography Altimeter mission, known as CRISTAL: we have successfully delivered the satellite’s solar arrays to Airbus for further testing.

CRISTAL is one of the Copernicus Sentinel Expansion missions and is being developed to monitor the Earth’s cryosphere with unprecedented detail. The mission will measure sea-ice thickness, the depth of snow lying on top of sea ice, and changes in the elevation of ice sheets and glaciers. These observations will support climate research, polar maritime operations, and a better understanding of how global warming is changing the most fragile regions of our planet.

For an operational mission such as CRISTAL, reliable power generation is essential. SpaceTech developed and built the solar arrays that will supply CRISTAL with the energy required for its instruments, onboard systems, and communications. The successful delivery to Airbus marks a key step in the satellite’s assembly and integration phase and underlines SpaceTech’s role as a trusted partner in European space missions.

As CRISTAL progresses toward launch, SpaceTech is proud to support a mission that will help scientists, policymakers, and operational users better understand the changing polar regions and their impact on the Earth system.