Cyclone Global Navigation Satellite System

Cyclone Global Navigation Satellite System
Names CYGNSS
Mission type Weather research
Operator NASA
COSPAR ID 2016-078A, 2016-078B, 2016-078C, 2016-078D, 2016-078E, 2016-078F, 2016-078G, 2016-078H
SATCAT no. 41884, 41885, 41886, 41887, 41888, 41889, 41890, 41891
Website cygnss-michigan.org
Mission duration Planned: 2 years
Elapsed: 1 year, 10 months, 1 day
Spacecraft properties
Manufacturer
Launch mass 28.9 kg (64 lb) each[1][2]
Dimensions 163.5 × 52.1 × 22.9 cm (64.4 × 20.5 × 9.0 in)[1]
(L x W x D)
Power 34.7 watts
Start of mission
Launch date December 15, 2016, 13:37:21 (2016-12-15UTC13:37:21) UTC[3]
Rocket Pegasus XL F43[2]
Launch site Cape Canaveral (Stargazer)
Contractor Orbital ATK
Entered service March 23, 2017[4]
Orbital parameters
Reference system Geocentric
Regime Low Earth
Semi-major axis 6,903 km (4,289 mi)
Eccentricity 0.00162
Perigee 514 km (319 mi)
Apogee 536 km (333 mi)
Inclination 35 degrees
Period 95.1 minutes
Epoch April 15, 2017, 22:21:25 UTC[5]
Instruments
Delayed Doppler Mapping Instrument

The Cyclone Global Navigation Satellite System (CYGNSS) is a space-based system developed by the University of Michigan and Southwest Research Institute with the aim of improving hurricane forecasting by better understanding the interactions between the sea and the air near the core of a storm.

In June 2012, NASA sponsored the project for $152 million with the University of Michigan leading its development.[6][7] Other participants in CYGNSS' development include the Southwest Research Institute, Sierra Nevada Corporation, and Surrey Satellite Technology.[8]

The plan was to build a constellation of eight micro-satellites to be launched simultaneously in a single launch vehicle[9] into low Earth orbit,[7] [10] at 500 km altitude.[11] The program was scheduled to launch December 12, 2016, and then observe two hurricane seasons.[12][13] Problems with a pump on the launching aircraft prevented this first launch, but a second launch attempt took place successfully on December 15, 2016.[14]

Overview

Forecasting the tracks of tropical cyclones since 1990 has improved by approximately 50%; however, in the same time period there has not been a corresponding improvement in forecasting the intensity of these storms. A better understanding of the inner core of tropical storms could lead to better forecasts; however, current sensors are unable to gather a sufficient quality of data on the inner core due to obscuration from rain bands surrounding it and to infrequent sampling. In order to improve the models used in intensity forecasts, better data are required.[15][16]

CYGNSS will measure the ocean surface wind field using a bi-static scatterometry technique based on GPS signals.[15][16] Each satellite receives both direct GPS signals and signals reflected from the Earth's surface; the direct signals pinpoint the microsatellite position and provide a timing reference, while the reflected or "scattered" signals provide information about the condition of the sea's surface. Sea surface roughness corresponds to wind speed.[11] Using a network of eight small satellites enables frequent observations: the mean revisit time is predicted to be 7 hours.[15][16] The eight microsatellites orbit at an inclination of 35°, and are each capable of measuring 4 simultaneous reflections, resulting in 32 wind measurements per second across the globe.[11]

CYGNSS is the first of NASA's Earth Venture-class spaceborne missions, part of NASA's Earth Science System Pathfinder program;[8] the previous EV selections were divided among five airborne remote sensing missions. The two-year mission launched on December 15, 2016, after postponements from November 2016,[17] and December 12, 2016.[12][18]

Science goal

The CYGNSS science goal is to understand the coupling between ocean surface properties, moist atmospheric thermodynamics, radiation, and convective dynamics in the inner core of a tropical cyclone.[11] To achieve this goal, the system will measure ocean surface wind speed in all precipitating conditions, including those experienced in the eyewall. The mission will also measure ocean surface wind speed in the storm's inner core with sufficient frequency to resolve genesis and rapid intensification. As secondary goal, the project will support the operational hurricane forecast community by producing and providing ocean surface wind speed data products.[11]

Instruments

Each CYGNSS satellite carries a Delay Doppler Mapping Instrument (DDMI), consisting of:

  • a Delay Mapping Receiver (DMR)
  • two nadir-pointing antennas
  • one zenith-pointing antenna

The instrument receives GPS signals scattered by the ocean surface for the purposes of bi-static scatterometry.[11]

Launch and early orbit operations

The CYGNSS mission was launched on December 15, 2016, at 13:37:21 UTC from a single Pegasus XL air-launched rocket. The rocket was deployed from a customized Lockheed L-1011 aircraft, Orbital ATK's Stargazer, from a position 201 kilometers (125 mi) off the coast of Cape Canaveral, Florida.[3][19] A launch attempt on December 12 was aborted due to problems with the hydraulic system that separates the Pegasus rocket from the carrier aircraft.[20] After launch, the eight microsats were released into orbit beginning at 13:50 UTC and ending at 13:52 UTC by a deployment module attached to the Pegasus third stage. Successful radio contact with the first microsat was made at 16:42 UTC.[21] The eighth microsat was successfully contacted at 20:30 UTC.[22] By the end of the day on December 15, all eight microsats had their solar arrays deployed and were sun-pointed with batteries charging in safe condition, ready to begin engineering commissioning.[23]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "CYGNSS Press Kit" (PDF). NASA. December 16, 2016.
  2. 1 2 Graham, William (December 15, 2016). "Pegasus launches CYGNSS constellation following Stargazer release". NASA Spaceflight. Retrieved April 17, 2017.
  3. 1 2 Clark, Stephen (December 15, 2016). "Flock of 'microsats' launched to measure winds inside hurricanes". Spaceflight Now. Retrieved April 16, 2017.
  4. ↑ "NASA's CYGNSS Satellite Constellation Enters Science Operations Phase". NASA. March 31, 2017. Retrieved April 16, 2017.
  5. ↑ "CYGNSS - Orbit". Heavens-Above. April 15, 2017.
  6. ↑ "U-M To Lead $152M NASA Satellite Project". Associated Press. June 19, 2012. Retrieved June 22, 2012.
  7. 1 2 Clark, Stephen (June 21, 2012). "NASA funds satellite mission to measure hurricane winds". SpaceflightNow. Retrieved June 22, 2012.
  8. 1 2 "NASA Selects Low Cost, High Science Earth Venture Space System". NASA. June 18, 2012. Retrieved June 24, 2012.
  9. ↑ "U-M to Lead $150M NASA Hurricane Prediction Project". University of Michigan. June 19, 2012. Retrieved November 14, 2016.
  10. ↑ Aldridge, James (June 21, 2012). "NASA taps SwRI on research effort to map hurricanes". San Antonio Business Journal. Retrieved June 22, 2012.
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "CYGNSS Factsheet October 2014". University of Michigan. Retrieved: September 27, 2015.
  12. 1 2 "CYGNSS Mission". University of Michigan. Retrieved February 11, 2016.
  13. ↑ Kozlowski, Kim (June 22, 2012). "University of Michigan, NASA team up for hurricane satellite project". The Detroit News. Retrieved June 22, 2012.
  14. ↑ "'Teams Cheer Deployment of CYGNSS Observatories B and D' | CYGNSS Hurricane Mission". blogs.nasa.gov. Retrieved December 15, 2016.
  15. 1 2 3 "CYGNSS." University of Michigan. Retrieved: August 15, 2015
  16. 1 2 3 Ruf, Christopher S.; Atlas, Robert; Chang, Paul S.; Clarizia, Maria Paola; Garrison, James L.; Gleason, Scott; Katzberg, Stephen J.; Jelenak, Zorana; Johnson, Joel T. (June 26, 2015). "New Ocean Winds Satellite Mission to Probe Hurricanes and Tropical Convection". Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society. 97 (3): 385–395. Bibcode:2016BAMS...97..385R. doi:10.1175/BAMS-D-14-00218.1. ISSN 0003-0007.
  17. ↑ "Missions - CYGNSS". NASA. April 30, 2013. Archived from the original on April 7, 2014. Retrieved September 8, 2013.
  18. ↑ Leone, Dan (June 19, 2012). "NASA To Fund Wind-monitoring Smallsat Constellation". Space News. Retrieved June 22, 2012.
  19. ↑ "NASA Hurricane Science Satellites sent into Orbit by Air-Launched Pegasus Rocket". Spaceflight 101. December 15, 2016. Retrieved April 16, 2017.
  20. ↑ "'Valiant Troubleshooting in the Air' - CYGNSS Hurricane Mission". blogs.nasa.gov. Retrieved December 12, 2016.
  21. ↑ Allen, Bob (December 15, 2016). "First CYGNSS micro-satellite is healthy!". NASA. Retrieved April 16, 2017.
  22. ↑ Atkinson, Joseph (December 15, 2016). "Eight for Eight! All Satellites Contacted!". NASA. Retrieved April 16, 2017.
  23. ↑ Ruf, Chris (December 15, 2016). "A Message From CYGNSS Principal Investigator Chris Ruf". NASA. Retrieved April 16, 2017.
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