Thirty contiguous scene resolution cells are sampled in a stepped-scan fashion every eight seconds, each scan covering 50 degrees on each side of the subsatellite path. These scan patterns and geometric resolution translate to a 50 km diameter cell at nadir and a 2,343 km swath width from the 833 km nominal orbital altitude. This multiplexing approach provides minimum front-end RF loss and a constant 3.3 degree antenna beamwidth with greater than 95 percent beam efficiency. Channel Characteristics and Specifications of AMSU-A Chan.
H indicates horizontal and V indicates vertical polarization.
This module provides a complete and accurate vertical temperature profile of the atmosphere from the Earth's surface to a height of approximately 45 km. This module is used to study atmospheric water in all of its forms with the exception of small ice particles. During the rotation cycle, the shroud prevents solar reflections from interacting with the warm load and also ensures maximum coupling of the source radiation to the antenna feed. A resolver in the antenna drive assembly provides antenna beam position information. The number of PRTs in each AMSU-A module.