RainCube: How can a CubeSat radar see the structure of a storm?

Simone Tanelli; Eva Peral; Ousmane O. Sy; Gian Franco Sacco; Ziad S. Haddad; Stephen L. Durden; Shivani Joshi

doi:10.1117/12.2531150

30 August 2019 RainCube: How can a CubeSat radar see the structure of a storm?

Simone Tanelli, Eva Peral, Ousmane O. Sy, Gian Franco Sacco, Ziad S. Haddad, Stephen L. Durden, Shivani Joshi

Proceedings Volume 11131, CubeSats and SmallSats for Remote Sensing III; 1113106 (2019) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2531150
Event: SPIE Optical Engineering + Applications, 2019, San Diego, California, United States

Abstract

RainCube (Radar in a CubeSat) is a technology demonstration mission to enable Ka-band precipitation radar technologies on a low-cost, quick-turnaround platform. The 6U CubeSat, features a Ka-band nadir pointing precipitation radar with a half-meter parabolic antenna. RainCube first observed rainfall over Mexico in August 2018 and in the following months captured the distinct structures of a variety of storms as well as characteristic signatures of Earth’s surface essential to diagnose pointing and calibration. In this presentation we will focus on the characteristics of the observed scenes, specifically to convey the potential, as well as the limitations, of a radar of this class in addressing the goal of observing weather processes from space.

Citation Download Citation

Simone Tanelli, Eva Peral, Ousmane O. Sy, Gian Franco Sacco, Ziad S. Haddad, Stephen L. Durden, and Shivani Joshi "RainCube: How can a CubeSat radar see the structure of a storm?", Proc. SPIE 11131, CubeSats and SmallSats for Remote Sensing III, 1113106 (30 August 2019); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2531150

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