NASA Technology Spawns Weather, Climate Satellite Constellation (COSMIC)

MEDIA RELATIONS OFFICE
JET PROPULSION LABORATORY
CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION
PASADENA, CALIF. 91109 TELEPHONE (818) 354-5011
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov

Alan Buis (818) 354-0474
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.

Erica Hupp/Dwayne Brown (202) 358-1237/1726
NASA Headquarters, Washington

News Release: 2006-057 April 13, 2006

NASA Technology Spawns Weather, Climate Satellite Constellation

A globe-spanning constellation of six weather and climate
research satellites based on a novel application of
NASA-developed technology is set to launch from Vandenberg
Air Force Base, Calif., Friday, April 14, at 5:10 p.m. PDT
aboard a Minotaur rocket.

The Constellation Observing System for Meteorology,
Ionosphere and Climate network, known as Cosmic in the
United States and Formosat-3 in Taiwan, is expected to
improve weather forecasts, monitor climate change and
enhance space weather research.

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., designed
Cosmic's primary instrument, a science global positioning
system receiver, based on its proven BlackJack space receiver.

The five-year mission is a cooperative program between the
American Institute in Taiwan and the Taipei Economic and
Cultural Representative Office in the United States. It is
funded by that office's designated representative, Taiwan's
National Space Organization, and various American Institute
in Taiwan-designated representatives, including the
National Science Foundation, Arlington, Va., which leads
science activities. The University Corporation for Atmospheric
Research, Boulder, Colo., manages the mission and designed
the satellite array system.

The low-orbiting satellites will be the first to provide
atmospheric data daily in real time over thousands of points
on Earth. They will measure the bending of radio signals
from the U.S. global positioning system as the signals pass
through Earth's atmosphere, a technology known as radio
occultation.

"Cosmic is a prime example of transitioning NASA remote
sensing technology into operational weather forecasting,"
said Tony Mannucci, supervisor of JPL's Ionospheric and
Atmospheric Remote Sensing Group. "The expected improvements
in forecasting skill and Cosmic's contribution to long-term
climate monitoring are a direct result of NASA's research
investments in radio occultation, a technology originally
developed by JPL in the 1960s for planetary atmospheric
studies and later refined in the 1990s for Earth orbit use."

Temperature and water vapor profiles derived from the
satellites will help meteorologists observe, research and
forecast hurricanes, typhoons and other storm patterns
over the oceans and improve many areas of weather
prediction. The mission's stability, consistency and
accuracy should be a boon to scientists quantifying
long-term climate change trends.

The satellites are also expected to improve analysis and
forecasting of space weather -- the geomagnetic storms that
can interrupt sensitive satellite and communications systems
and affect power grids.

While several single-satellite systems have used global
positioning system signals experimentally over the past
decade, Cosmic's satellite array is the first to provide the
high-density global coverage required for both research and
operational forecasting.

Orbiting 800 kilometers (500 miles) above Earth, the
satellites will take about 2,500 measurements a day in a
nearly uniform global distribution, providing independent
data over vast ocean stretches where there are no weather
balloons. Because its radio signals pierce thick cloud
cover and precipitation, weather conditions will not
interfere with data gathering. Mission data will be
available to researchers and forecasters within a few
hours of the observations.

Other major American Institute in Taiwan-designated
representatives in Cosmic include the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Air Force Space Test
Program and U.S. Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center
Rocket Systems Launch Program, and the Office of Naval
Research. The spacecraft was designed by Orbital Sciences
Corporation. Broad Reach Engineering built the satellite
constellation receivers. The Naval Research Laboratory
designed and built the ionospheric sensors. The rest of
the constellation was built and tested in Taiwan.

For more information on Cosmic on the Internet, visit:

http://www.cosmic.ucar.edu .

For more information on global positioning system
occultation remote sensing, visit:

http://genesis.jpl.nasa.gov .

Other points of contact include: Anatta, University
Corporation for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, Colo.,
(303) 497-8604; and Cheryl Dybas, National Science
Foundation, Arlington, Va., (703) 292-7734.

JPL is managed for NASA by the California Institute of
Technology.

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