Geostationary Earth Radiation Budget
Encyclopedia
The Geostationary Earth Radiation Budget (GERB) is an instrument aboard EUMETSAT's Meteosat
Second Generation geostationary satellite
s designed to make accurate measurements of the Earth Radiation Budget.
It was produced by a European consortium consisting of the United Kingdom
, Belgium
and Italy
. The first, known as GERB 2, was launched on 28 August 2002 on an Ariane 5
rocket. The second, GERB 1, was launched on 21 December 2005.
Meteosat
The Meteosat series of satellites are geostationary meteorological satellites operated by EUMETSAT under the Meteosat Transition Programme and the Meteosat Second Generation program....
Second Generation geostationary satellite
Satellite
In the context of spaceflight, a satellite is an object which has been placed into orbit by human endeavour. Such objects are sometimes called artificial satellites to distinguish them from natural satellites such as the Moon....
s designed to make accurate measurements of the Earth Radiation Budget.
It was produced by a European consortium consisting of the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
and Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. The first, known as GERB 2, was launched on 28 August 2002 on an Ariane 5
Ariane 5
Ariane 5 is, as a part of Ariane rocket family, an expendable launch system used to deliver payloads into geostationary transfer orbit or low Earth orbit . Ariane 5 rockets are manufactured under the authority of the European Space Agency and the Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales...
rocket. The second, GERB 1, was launched on 21 December 2005.