TROPICS Satellites

TROPICS
TROPICS
TROPICS
TROPICS
TROPICS
TROPICS
Satellite TROPICS (The Time-Resolved Observations of Precipitation structure and storm Intensity with a Constellation of Smallsats)
Spacecraft type CubeSat
Units or mass 3U
Organization MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)
Institution University
Entity type Academic / Education
Country US
Manufacturer AIVT by Blue Canyon
Launch brokerer Astra
Partners NOAA, University of Wisconsin, University of Miami, Blue Canyon, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
Oneliner

Provide rapid-refresh microwave measurements over the tropics for weather prediction.

Description

Provide rapid-refresh microwave measurements (21 minutes for the baseline mission, 31 minutes for the threshold mission) over the tropics that can be used to observe the thermodynamics of the troposphere and precipitation structure for storm systems at the mesoscale and synoptic scale over the entire storm lifecycle.

Radiometer scanning across the satellite track at 30 RPM to provide temperature profiles using 7 channels near 118.75 GHz oxygen absorption line, water vapor profiles using 3 channels near the 183 GHz water vapor absorption line, imagery in a single channel near 90 GHz for precipitation measurements, and a single channel at 206 GHz for cloud ice measurements.

The antenna listens in at 12 microwave channels between 90 to 205 gigahertz, where the relevant emission signals are strongest. These channels capture signals at different heights throughout the lowest layer of the atmosphere, or troposphere, where most weather we experience occurs.

Results

As of August 2023, the satellites have been undergoing tests of their main instruments, microwave radiometers to collect temperature and humidity data on tropical storms.

In addition to the high frequency of observations, the TROPICS satellites provide high-quality data. Blackwell said the precipitation rain rate estimate derived from TROPICS Pathfinder data is better than state-of-the-art instruments on much larger spacecraft.

Sources [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9]
Photo sources [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]
COTS subsystems
  • PLATFORM - Blue Canyon
Subsystems sources [1]
Keywords Steerable Solar Arrays

Related Spacecraft

Name Status Launcher Launch Orbit
TROPICS Pathfinder (The Time-Resolved Observations of Precipitation structure and storm Intensity with a Constellation of Smallsats) Operational? (Yielded useful data for 30+ months of operation (up until December 2023 as per 4S 2024 paper) Falcon 9, (Transporter-2) 2021-06-30 525 km, 97.5 deg
TROPICS 1 (The Time-Resolved Observations of Precipitation structure and storm Intensity with a Constellation of Smallsats) Launch failure Astra Rocket 2022-06-12 Launch failure
TROPICS 2 (The Time-Resolved Observations of Precipitation structure and storm Intensity with a Constellation of Smallsats) Launch failure Astra Rocket 2022-06-12 Launch failure
TROPICS 5 (TROPICS-05, TROPICS SV05, The Time-Resolved Observations of Precipitation structure and storm Intensity with a Constellation of Smallsats) Operational (4S 2024 paper) Electron 2023-05-08 540 km, 32.7 deg
TROPICS 6 (TROPICS-06, TROPICS SV06, The Time-Resolved Observations of Precipitation structure and storm Intensity with a Constellation of Smallsats) Operational (4S 2024 paper) Electron 2023-05-08 540 km, 32.7 deg
TROPICS 3 (TROPICS-03, TROPICS SV03, The Time-Resolved Observations of Precipitation structure and storm Intensity with a Constellation of Smallsats) Operational (4S 2024 paper) Electron 2023-05-26 540 km, 32.7 deg
TROPICS 7 (TROPICS-07, TROPICS SV07, The Time-Resolved Observations of Precipitation structure and storm Intensity with a Constellation of Smallsats) Operational (4S 2024 paper) Electron 2023-05-26 540 km, 32.7 deg

Last modified: 2024-05-29

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