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| CYGNSS | |
|---|---|
| Name | Cyclone Global Navigation Satellite System |
| Mission type | Earth observation, meteorology |
| Operator | University of Michigan / NASA |
| Manufacturer | University of Michigan / Vanderbilt University |
| Launch mass | 150 kg (per microsatellite) |
| Power | solar panels |
| Launch date | 2016-12-15 |
| Launch vehicle | Pegasus XL |
| Launch site | Vandenberg Air Force Base |
| Orbit | Low Earth orbit |
CYGNSS
CYGNSS is a constellation of eight microsatellites developed to measure tropical cyclone surface winds and ocean surface roughness, providing higher temporal sampling than single-satellite missions for studies linking tropical cyclone intensity changes with surface conditions. The mission was led by teams at University of Michigan, supported by NASA and partners including Vanderbilt University and industry contractors, and builds upon heritage from missions such as QuikSCAT, SMAP, TOPEX/Poseidon, and Jason-1 to advance tropical meteorology and oceanography. CYGNSS operates in a low-inclination constellation to optimize coverage of regions frequented by Hurricane Katrina, Typhoon Haiyan, Hurricane Sandy, and other major Atlantic and Pacific storms.
CYGNSS consists of a cluster of microsatellites designed to exploit reflected signals of opportunity from global navigation satellite systems to infer near-surface wind speed over the ocean, extending methodologies used by GPS Radio Occultation experiments and lessons from missions including COSMIC, GRACE, CHAMP, and SARAL. The program emphasizes rapid revisit times to capture the fast-evolving structure of systems like Tropical Storm Allison and Hurricane Andrew, complementing observations from platforms such as GOES-16, NOAA-20, Himawari-8, and MetOp. CYGNSS data support research communities concerned with El Niño–Southern Oscillation, Madden–Julian Oscillation, Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation, and interactions between storms and phenomena observed by Argo floats and float networks.
Primary objectives included quantifying surface wind speed in and near the inner core of tropical cyclones to improve understanding of rapid intensity change, building on theoretical work from Emanuel, K. A. and observational campaigns like VORTEX and SHOUT. Design choices—eight small satellites in a low-inclination constellation—were influenced by operational requirements from National Hurricane Center, observational gaps highlighted after Hurricane Hugo, and instrument heritage from Scatterometer technology exemplified by SeaWinds on QuikSCAT and ASCAT on MetOp. The mission also sought to demonstrate use of reflected Global Positioning System signals for ocean surface remote sensing, continuing trends set by SST and Roughness retrieval studies and leveraging calibration strategies used by MODIS, VIIRS, and ADEOS missions.
Each microsatellite carries a Delay Doppler Mapping Instrument derived from GNSS reflectometry concepts, employing receivers tuned to signals from GPS, GLONASS, and later Galileo constellations, building on techniques demonstrated by UK-DMC and research efforts at Cornell University and Caltech. Spacecraft buses were developed by teams at University of Michigan and tested using facilities at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center and Vandenberg Air Force Base flight integration sites, incorporating attitude control systems similar to those used on smallsat programs like CubeSat projects supported by Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Instrument calibration referenced radiometric approaches applied in missions such as Aqua, Terra, and Landsat 8.
The eight satellites were launched on a single air-launched Pegasus XL rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base in December 2016, an approach reminiscent of tactical launches conducted for missions like ORBCOMM and Moog. After separation, constellation phasing and station-keeping maneuvers were coordinated with flight operations teams at NASA Ames Research Center and mission operations centers at University of Michigan. Daily operations involved tasking for opportunistic GNSS reflections across basins monitored by Cuban meteorological services, NOAA National Hurricane Center, Japan Meteorological Agency, and national agencies including Met Office (United Kingdom), Météo-France, and Australian Bureau of Meteorology.
CYGNSS delivers calibrated Level 1 raw GNSS reflection data, Level 2 geophysical retrievals of ocean surface wind speed, and higher-level gridded products for assimilation into models such as HWRF, GFS, ECMWF, and WRF. Users from agencies like NOAA, NASA, European Space Agency, and research centers including Scripps Institution of Oceanography and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution utilize products to improve tropical cyclone intensity forecasts, study air-sea interaction in cases like Hurricane Dorian and Typhoon Mangkhut, and validate against in-situ platforms such as buoy networks, Hurricane Hunter aircraft from NOAA WP-3D Orion, and SONAR-equipped research vessels. Derived datasets support interdisciplinary work linking to coastal inundation planning conducted by FEMA and USACE.
CYGNSS observations have refined understanding of inner-core wind structure and rapid intensification mechanisms tested against theoretical frameworks from Shapiro and Willoughby and DeMaria and Kaplan. Peer-reviewed studies compare CYGNSS retrievals with scatterometer records from ASCAT and radiometer records from SSMIS, demonstrating improved temporal sampling during events such as Hurricane Michael and Hurricane Matthew. Data have been used in assimilation experiments with Ensemble Kalman Filter and four-dimensional variational schemes by groups at NOAA ESRL, NCAR, and Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory, influencing operational forecasting practice and contributing to assessments by bodies like the World Meteorological Organization.
The mission was funded primarily through NASA's Earth Science Division with contributions from academic institutions including University of Michigan, Vanderbilt University, Cornell University, and industry partners such as Blue Canyon Technologies and contractors with ties to Ball Aerospace and Lockheed Martin. International collaborations involved data sharing with European Space Agency, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, UK Space Agency, and research partnerships with NOAA laboratories, CSIRO, and universities including Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Stanford University, Princeton University, Columbia University, University of California, San Diego, University of Miami, Florida State University, University of Washington, University of Colorado Boulder, University of Exeter, University of Reading, ETH Zurich, University of Tokyo, Peking University, Indian Institute of Science, University of São Paulo, and University of Cape Town. Continued support and community engagement are organized through workshops hosted at AGU and AMS conferences.
Category:Earth observation satellites Category:NASA satellites