NASA starts satellite project for improving hurricane forecasting

Engineers begin construction of the first of eight microsatellites for NASA’s Cyclone…

It is reported that the system will help in better hurricane forecasting by measuring ocean surface winds in and close to eye wall of the typhoons, tropical cyclones and hurricanes all through their life cycle. Communication antennas, attitude control, Global Positioning System receiver, and other instrumentation will be installed on the satellite frame in the coming weeks.

“We at the moment are within the final part of the start of a brand new period in hurricane observations”, stated Chris Ruf, CYGNSS principal investigator on the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.

10 years ago, when Hurricane Katrina came down on the Gulf Coast, forecasters were armed with a good idea of how intense the storm would be and where it would hit.

Once the fleet of microsatellites are completed, NASA will launch them into Earth’s low orbit, where they will be able to pass over a storm every 12 minutes and collect data.

CYGNSS will orbit the Earth from about 317 miles overhead and will deliver data on factors like a hurricane’s wind speed, which can determine if there is a flood risk associated with the storm.

With all of the technology we have, hurricanes remain incredibly unpredictable which can result in people dying from incorrect forecasts – NASA is hoping to put an end to all that with a fleet of micro-satellites.

The body of each satellite measures roughly 20-by-25-by-11 inches, slightly larger than a standard carry-on suitcase. Assembly began August 14. The Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio will construct and test the CYGNSS microsatellites.

When fully assembled, each satellite will weigh about 64 pounds. With the solar panels deployed, each microsatellite will have a wingspan of 5.5 feet. The satellites will probably be stacked for testing in early 2016.

The mission is scheduled to launch in late 2016 on an Orbital ATK Pegasus XL expendable rocket from Cape Canaveral in Florida, with science operations beginning in the 2017 Atlantic hurricane season. Now scientists know that during the 24 hours between the last reconnaissance flights of Hurricane Hunters and the time when the storm made its landfall, the eyewall was knocked over by an upper level shear causing the winds to spread horizontally and trigger a huge spike in the water levels.