SERB, a first innovative proof-of-concept nano-satellite of a constellation to measure the Earth Radiation Budget

Abstract : The only way to measure the imbalance with sufficient accuracy is to measure both the incoming solar radiations (total solar irradiance) and the outgoing terrestrial radiations (top of atmosphere outgoing longwave radiations and shortwave radiations) onboard the same satellite, and ideally, with the same instrument. The incoming solar radiations and the outgoing terrestrial radiations are of nearly equal magnitude of the order of 340.5 W/m????2. The objective is to measure these quantities over time by using differential Sun-Earth measurements (to counter calibration errors) with an accuracy better than 0.05 W/m2. It is necessary to observe during a decade and to measure the global diurnal cycle with a dozen satellites. Solar irradiance and Earth Radiation Budget (SERB) is a potential first in orbit demonstration satellite. The SERB nano-satellite aims to measure on the same platform the different components of the Earth radiation budget and the total solar irradiance. Instrumental payloads (solar radiometer and Earth radiometers) can acquire the technical maturity for the future large missions (constellation that insure global measurement cover) by flying in a CubeSat. This presentation is intended to demonstrate the ability to build a low-cost satellite with a high accuracy measurement in order to have constant flow of data from space.