Title :
The CYGNSS flight segment; A major NASA science mission enabled by micro-satellite technology
Author :
Rose, Rachel ; Ruf, C. ; Rose, D. ; Brummitt, M. ; Ridley, A.
Author_Institution :
Southwest Res. Inst., San Antonio, TX, USA
Abstract :
While hurricane track forecasts have improved in accuracy by ~50% since 1990, there has been essentially no improvement in the accuracy of intensity prediction. This lack of progress is thought to be caused by inadequate observations and modeling of the inner core due to two causes: 1) much of the inner core ocean surface is obscured from conventional remote sensing instruments by intense precipitation in the inner rain bands and 2) the rapidly evolving stages of the tropical cyclone (TC) life cycle are poorly sampled in time by conventional polar-orbiting, wide-swath surface wind imagers. NASA\´s most recently awarded Earth science mission, the NASA EV-2 Cyclone Global Navigation Satellite System (CYGNSS) has been designed to address these deficiencies by combining the all-weather performance of GNSS bistatic ocean surface scatterometry with the sampling properties of a satellite constellation. This paper provides an overview of the CYGNSS flight segment requirements, implementation, and concept of operations for the CYGNSS constellation; consisting of 8 microsatellite-class spacecraft (<;100kg) each hosting a GNSS receiver, operating in a 500 km orbit, inclined at 35° to provide 70% coverage of the historical TC track. The CYGNSS mission is enabled by modern electronic technology; it is an example of how nanosatellite technology can be applied to replace traditional "old school" solutions at significantly reduced cost while providing an increase in performance. This paper provides an overview of how we combined a reliable space-flight proven avionics design with selected microsatellite components to create an innovative, low-cost solution for a mainstream science investigation.
Keywords :
atmospheric techniques; rain; remote sensing; storms; weather forecasting; wind; CYGNSS constellation; CYGNSS flight segment; CYGNSS mission; Earth science mission; MicroSatellite Technology; NASA Eν-2 Cyclone Global Navigation Satellite System; NASA Science Mission; conventional polar-orbiting; conventional remote sensing instruments; historical TC track; hurricane track forecasts; inner core modeling; inner core ocean surface; inner rain bands; intense precipitation; intensity prediction accuracy; mainstream science investigation; microsatellite-class spacecraft; modern electronic technology; satellite constellation; tropical cyclone life cycle; wide-swath surface wind imagers; Antennas; Biological system modeling; Global Positioning System; Instruments; NASA; Observatories; Oceans;
Conference_Titel :
Aerospace Conference, 2013 IEEE
Conference_Location :
Big Sky, MT
Print_ISBN :
978-1-4673-1812-9
DOI :
10.1109/AERO.2013.6497205