USAF Support for COSMIC Research and Operational Applications, 2008-2012

2006年4月14日，六颗微型卫星星座气象、电离层和气候观测系统（COSMIC）从加州范登堡空军基地发射升空。所有卫星和有效载荷都运行良好，该计划在2006年7月下旬发射三个月后开始向所有有关各方分发所有数据。该计划在预算和时间表内执行，高质量的数据已经开始对大气和电离层科学以及业务天气预报产生重大影响。经过几个月的测试，欧洲中期天气预报中心（ECMWF）于2006年12月13日开始使用COSMIC数据。包括国家环境预报中心（NCEP）、英国气象局（UK Met Office）、法国气象局（Météo-France）和加拿大气象中心（CMC）在内的几个业务中心计划在2007年初开始对COSMIC数据进行业务同化。截至2007年1月，该数据有400个注册用户，代表美国和国际主要大学，领先的业务气象中心，研究实验室和几家私营公司。宇宙飞船和数据处理中心的状态可以在COSMIC网站上找到：http://www.cosmic.ucar.edu/ COSMIC卫星设计运行到2011年。NSF和其他参与的美国机构正在提供支持，这对于确保数据和数据产品的持续交付至关重要。利用美国资金执行的主要任务是：（一）运营COSMIC数据分析和档案中心，进行数据处理、质量控制和传播，（二）继续开发和改进处理算法，（三）假设COSMIC远程跟踪站近实时数据收集运营费用的50%，（iv）继续改进和维护全球定位系统无线电掩星科学有效载荷固件和软件，以及（v）运营宇宙信息中心项目办公室，以支持国家和国际科学界。智力优势：该项目具有极高的智力价值，因为它将利用创新的全球定位系统反渗透技术，为研究和业务提供全球、连续和全天候的大气观测。COSMIC在GPS RO科学方面取得了两项重大进展：设计和实施先进的“开环”跟踪技术，用于大气边界层的天基传感，以及设计和运行第一个星座，该星座产生全球统一覆盖的实时RO探测，以支持大气研究和业务数值天气预报、气候监测和研究，空间天气预报。更广泛的影响：COSMIC每天可在全球范围内进行约2，500次探测，将对大气科学界的业务和研究产生广泛而深远的影响。COSMIC将为天气和气候研究提供世界上传统数据稀少地区的宝贵数据，包括极地和海洋地区。COSMIC数据具有高精度、高精度和高垂直分辨率，不受云和降水的影响，不需要星间交叉校准，这使得COSMIC非常适合气候研究。COSMIC还为空间天气的分析和预报以及其他电离层研究提供急需的电离层观测。COSMIC的数据和处理软件将免费提供给广大的大学和用户社区。该项目也有一个重要的教育组成部分，因为它将涉及研究生和本科生以及博士后研究员通过与大学合作。

The six micro-satellite Constellation Observing System for Meteorology, Ionosphere, and Climate (COSMIC) was launched on April 14, 2006 from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. All satellites and payloads are functioning well, and the program began distributing all data to all interested parties three months after launch in late July 2006. The program was executed within budget and schedule and the high-quality data are already starting to significantly affect atmospheric and ionospheric science and operational weather forecasting. Following several months of testing, the European Centre for Medium-range Weather Forecasting (ECMWF) commenced operational use of the COSMIC data on December 13, 2006. Several operational centers, including the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP), the United Kingdom Meteorological Office (UK Met Office), Météo-France, and the Canadian Meteorological Centre (CMC) plan to begin operational assimilation of COSMIC data in early 2007. As of January 2007, there were 400 registered users of the data, representing major U.S. and international universities, leading operational weather centers, research laboratories, and several private companies. The status of the spacecraft and data processing center can be found at the COSMIC web site: http://www.cosmic.ucar.edu/ The COSMIC satellites are designed to operate through 2011. NSF and other participating U.S. agencies are providing support that is critical to ensure continued delivery of the data and data products. The main tasks to be performed with US funding are: (i) operation of the COSMIC Data Analysis and Archival Center (CDAAC) for data processing, quality control, and dissemination, (ii) continued development and improvement of processing algorithms, (iii) assumption of 50% of the cost for the operation of the COSMIC remote tracking stations (RTS) for near-real time data collection, (iv) continued improvement and maintenance of Global Positioning System (GPS) radio occultation (RO) science payload firmware and software, and (v) operation of the COSMIC Project Office to support the national and international science community. Intellectual Merit: This project has extremely high intellectual merit in that it will make use of innovative GPS RO techniques to provide global, continuous, and all-weather observations of the atmosphere for research and operations. COSMIC delivers two major advancements in GPS RO science: (i) the design and implementation of an advanced "open-loop" tracking technique for space-based sensing of the atmospheric boundary layer and (ii) the design and operation of first constellation that produces real-time RO soundings with uniform global coverage to support atmospheric research and operational numerical weather prediction (NWP), climate monitoring and research, and space-weather forecasting. Broader Impacts: With the availability of ~2,500 soundings globally per day, COSMIC will have a broad and far-reaching impact for the operational and research atmospheric science communities. COSMIC will provide valuable data in traditional data sparse regions of the world, including polar and oceanic regions, for weather and climate studies. The fact that the COSMIC data are of high precision, high accuracy, and high vertical resolution, are not affected by clouds and precipitation, and require no inter-satellite cross-calibration, makes COSMIC ideally suited for climate research. COSMIC also provides much-needed ionospheric observations for analysis and forecasting of space weather, and other ionospheric research. The COSMIC data and the processing software will be made freely available to the broad university and user community. The project also has a significant educational component, as it will involve graduate and undergraduate students as well as postdoctoral fellows through collaboration with universities.