Title :
Overview of Temporal Experiment for Storms and Tropical Systems (TEMPEST) CubeSat constellation mission
Author :
Reising, Steven C. ; Gaier, Todd C. ; Kummerow, Christian D. ; Chandrasekar, V. ; Brown, Shannon T. ; Padmanabhan, Sharmila ; Lim, Boon H. ; van den Heever, Susan C. ; L´Ecuyer, Tristan S. ; Ruf, Christopher S. ; Haddad, Ziad S. ; Luo, Z. Johnny ; Munchak
Author_Institution :
Colorado State Univ., Fort Collins, CO, USA
Abstract :
The proposed Temporal Experiment for Storms and Tropical Systems (TEMPEST) satellite mission addresses key science needs related to cloud and precipitation processes using a constellation of five CubeSats with identical five-frequency millimeter-wave radiometers spaced 5-10 minutes apart in orbit. This CubeSat constellation will directly observe the time evolution of clouds to study the conditions that control the transition of clouds to precipitation. The TEMPEST millimeter-wave radiometers will penetrate into the cloud to directly observe changes as the cloud begins to precipitate or ice accumulates inside the storm. TEMPEST provides observations at five millimeter-wave frequencies from 90 to 183 GHz using a single compact instrument that is well suited for a 6U CubeSat architecture and fits well within the NASA CubeSat Launch Initiative capabilities.
Keywords :
artificial satellites; clouds; radiometers; remote sensing; 6U CubeSat architecture; CubeSat constellation mission; NASA CubeSat launch initiative capabilities; TEMPEST millimeter-wave radiometer; TEMPEST satellite mission; cloud process; cloud time evolution; cloud transition; frequency 90 GHz to 183 GHz; millimeter-wave frequencies; precipitation process; single compact instrument; temporal experiment for storms and tropical system; time 5 min to 10 min; Clouds; Extraterrestrial measurements; Ice; Motion measurement; Orbits; Satellite broadcasting; Satellites; high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs); indium phosphide (InP); low-noise amplifiers; monolithic millimeter-wave integrated circuits (MMICs); radiometers;
Conference_Titel :
Microwave Symposium (IMS), 2015 IEEE MTT-S International
Conference_Location :
Phoenix, AZ
DOI :
10.1109/MWSYM.2015.7167136
