The satellites, about the size of a suitcase and weighing 64 pounds (30 kilograms) are actually GPS receivers that have been modified to fit in and work with the $157 million Cyclone Global Navigation Satellite System (CYGNSS).
A plane carrying a Pegasus rocket took off early this morning from Cape Canaveral Air Force Base. One hour later, at 39,000 feet above the Atlantic Ocean and 100 miles east of Daytona Beach, the co-pilot pushed a button, releasing the rocket and the attached satellites from the belly of the plane, reports Phys.Org.
Five seconds later, the Pegasus rocket fired, propelling the satellites into an orbit 317 miles above the Earth. The satellites peeled away from the rocket, two-at-a-time, at 30-second intervals. The satellite’s orbits are designed to measure only in the tropics, where hurricanes are most often found. They will pass over the same area every 12 minutes.
CYGNSS technology improves hurricane forecasting
The Technology behind the CYGNSS mission is not only impressive, but it is also a novel approach to hurricane forecasting. “Our ability to forecast how strong the hurricane is going to be when it does make landfall will get much better,” the University of Michigan’s Chris Ruf, lead researcher for the Cyclone Global Navigation Satellite System, or CYGNSS, told Reuters before the launch.
Measuring wind speed over the ocean’s surface from space has typically been done using a technique called scatterometry. Basically, a radar instrument aboard a satellite sends a signal to the ground and measures the strength of the signal that is bounced back.
The CYGNSS satellite is slightly different and more cost effective, says NASA. The satellite only receives signals broadcast to them from GPS satellites already orbiting the Earth and the same satellite’s signals reflected back from the Earth. Sort of like killing two birds with one stone. The CYGNSS satellite will not broadcast, thus, being a big money-saver.
The system is expected to operate for a period of two years. The launch today will give scientists plenty of time to get them calibrated before the start of the 2017 hurricane season. The CYGNSS satellites were manufactured by Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio and the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. The Pegasus rocket used to launch the satellites is made by Orbital ATK.
