EnMAP vs. Covid-19: How to prepare for and conduct a LEOP during a pandemic

Kurzfassung

The EnMAP (Environmental Mapping and Analysis Program) satellite was designed and built in Germany and contains a state-of-the-art hyperspectral camera as main payload. With its two spectrometers it is capable to analyse the solar radiation being reflected from the Earth’s surface from the short-wave infrared to the visible range at a very high spectral resolution. Its data will allow scientists to answer questions concerning the environment and various ecosystems, agriculture and forestry, land use and water management as well as mineralogy and geology. The EnMAP mission is managed by the German Aerospace Center (DLR) in Bonn and operations are conducted at the German Space Operations Center (GSOC) near Munich. The satellite was built by the OHB System AG in Germany and was launched on April 1st 2022 from Cape Canaveral in Florida, USA. The Scientific Lead is conducted by the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ). With a launch date of April 1st in 2022 the EnMAP mission was significantly challenged by the Covid- 19 pandemic in its last two years of validation and mission preparation as well as during the Launch and Early Orbit Phase (LEOP). The last two years did not only include a governmental lockdown which did not allow the team to work on-site, but also several extended periods of strict regulations concerning social distancing which did not only affect the validation and simulation campaign but also the LEOP itself. This paper will give an overview of the various challenges the Covid-19 pandemic has posed on the different phases of mission preparation and on the sensitive launch and early orbit phase. In addition, it will provide information how those challenges were dealt with by the mission operations team at GSOC. It also shows which additional constraints and risks were identified for the EnMAP mission due to the pandemic and the subsequent governmental regulations. Finally, the paper will provide lessons learned concerning “what really is important during the launch and early orbit phase” and how this was accounted for when preparing for the EnMAP launch.