STTR Phase I:Constellation of Nanosatellite Radars for Near-Hourly, Global Ocean Surface Vector Winds

这个小型企业技术转让(STTR)第一阶段项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力是，通过将海风测量的刷新率提高十倍，显著提高天气预报的准确性。这一预测的改善将通过提高海运、农业和物流行业的效率来增加美国的经济竞争力。改进的天气预报将使更早的风暴预警能够拯救数千人的生命，从而促进美国公众的健康和福利。改进的天气预报将支持国防，同时还可以节省数亿美元的误报飓风疏散费用。海风数据还将直接惠及海事运营商，包括休闲水手、远洋承运人和渔民。来自海上客户的风图和预报订阅代表着价值30亿美元的商业机会。这个STTR第一阶段项目建议研究利用纳米卫星雷达(散射计)星座将海风测量的更新率提高十倍的可行性。目前用于测量海风的卫星价格高得令人望而却步，而且自几十年前推出以来，性能并没有实质性的改善。本研究的目的是评估所提出的纳卫星散射计的测量精度、成本和刷新率。其他目标研究监管可行性、后处理可行性和商业可行性。研究包括雷达信号、热量、数据地理位置、成本、质量、数据速率、延迟、无线电干扰和许可证可行性的计算。该研究还包括对雷达测量几何、后处理、散射计将生成的风图以及星座、其操作和补给要求的模拟。该项目的研究回答了潜在用户提出的关键可行性和性能问题。数据质量、可用性和模拟样本数据等结果将用于客户发现，以确保满足潜在用户的需求。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project is a significant improvement in the accuracy of weather forecasts by increasing the refresh rate of sea wind measurements ten-fold. This forecast improvement will increase the economic competitiveness of the United States by improving efficiency in maritime, agriculture, and logistics industries. Improved weather forecasts will advance the health and welfare of the American public by enabling earlier storm warnings that save thousands of lives. Improved weather forecasts will support national defense, while also saving hundreds of millions of dollars in false-alarm hurricane evacuations. Sea wind data will also directly benefit maritime operators, including recreational sailors, ocean carriers and fishers. Wind map and forecast subscriptions from maritime customers represent a $3 billion commercial opportunity.This STTR Phase I project proposes to study the feasibility of increasing the refresh rate of sea wind measurements ten-fold using a constellation of nanosatellite radars (scatterometers). Current satellites for measuring sea winds are prohibitively expensive and performance has not substantially improved since they were introduced decades ago. The objective of this research is to evaluate the measurement accuracy, cost, and refresh rate of the proposed nanosatellite scatterometers. Additional objectives study the regulatory feasibility, post-processing feasibility, and commercial feasibility. The research includes calculations of the radar signal, heat, data geolocation, cost, mass, data rate, latency, radio interference, and license feasibility. The research also includes simulations of the radar measurement geometry, the post-processing, the wind maps that will be generated by the scatterometer, as well as the constellation, its operations, and its replenishment requirements. The studies in this project answer key feasibility and performance questions posed by potential users. The results, such as data quality, availability, and simulated sample data, will be used in customer discovery to ensure the needs of potential users are met.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.