News from #AMS2018 | NOAA sees great promise and challenges in using data from smallsat constellations

Monday, January 8, 2018 View this email in your browser AMS meeting investigates roles for commercial and small satellites in weather forecasting AUSTIN, Texas — Atmospheric and space scientists gathering at the 98th Annual Meeting of the American Meteorological Society this week will be sharing information on a wide range of topics, including future government and commercial weather satellites of all sizes. The event is expected to draw about 4,500 people and feature expert reports on the role U.S. Defense Department, NASA, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency and commercial weather satellites will play in future weather forecasts. NOAA's National Environmental Satellite, Data and Information Service plans to highlight the agency's progress in updating its weather satellite constellations, including the 2017 launch of NOAA-20, the first spacecraft in the Joint Polar Satellite System, and the recent commissioning of Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) 16, the next-generation weather satellite, and to brief conference participants on future plans. — Debra Werner NOAA sees great promise and challenges in using data from small satellite constellations AUSTIN, Texas — As the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration looks ahead, the agency sees great promise in the observation capabilities of small satellite constellations but also significant challenges in terms of buying, validating and using the various types of data they provide. "There is an unprecedented opportunity to expand the number and types and diversity of observations we can bring in but we will have to think about different ways of doing business," said Karen St. Germain, systems architecture and advanced planning director for NOAA's Satellite and Information Service. NOAA is concerned, for example, about whether data products from small satellite constellations will be available over the long-term and if so, whether prices will remain stable or fluctuate over time. "How should we budget for that?" St. Germain asked Jan. 8 during an American Meteorological Society conference panel here on NASA and NOAA's use of commercial weather and Earth science data.— Debra Werner Earth science decadal report recommends mix of large and small missions WASHINGTON — A report setting priorities for the next decade of Earth science missions recommends that NASA pursue a mix of large and small missions to help better understand the changing nature of the planet. The report, released by the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine in an event here Jan. 5, includes a portfolio of proposed missions that it believes can fit within NASA's Earth science budget assuming it grows at the rate of inflation, but with "decision rules" for delaying missions should those budgets fall short. The proposed missions, along with the existing "program of record" of missions in service today or under development, are intended to help scientists better understand the ways that the climate, water cycle, soil and other resources are changing, research the report argues can be uniquely done with satellites. — Jeff Foust What happened to the 2007 Earth science decadal survey missions? SAN FRANCISCO — Ten years after the National Academies published the first Earth science decadal survey, NASA has flown one of the 15 recommended missions with two more scheduled to launch in 2018. The first decadal survey mission to reach orbit was Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP), a campaign to measure water in topsoil that has been in orbit since 2015. SMAP's L-band radiometer continues to function, but its onboard radar quit after less than six months due to a faulty amplifier. Next up are the twin satellites of the U.S.-German Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment Follow-On. The spacecraft, which are designed to circle the Earth in tight formation and detect changes in gravitational pull that reveal higher concentrations of mass, are at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California awaiting a March flight on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket alongside five Iridium Next communications satellites. In September, NASA plans to launch Ice, Cloud and land Elevation Satellite-2, to monitor ice sheets, sea ice and glaciers, on the last Delta 2 rocket from Vandenberg. It's not surprising that NASA has made little progress flying missions recommended in the 2007 report, "Earth Science and Applications from Space: National Imperatives for the Next Decade and Beyond." When it was published, NASA leaders including then-Administrator Mike Griffin, warned the plan was overly ambitious and only a fraction of the work could be completed in a decade because the missions would cost far more than estimated. That warning proved prescient. SMAP, for example, cost $915 million to build, launch and operate, more than three times its $300 million cost estimate in the decadal survey. Similarly, ICESat-2 will cost more than twice as much to build, launch and operate than its $300 million pricetag in the 2007 report. NASA's budget for GRACE Follow-On remains close to the $450 million but Germany's DLR is providing nearly $100 million in additional funding. To ensure estimates are more accurate in the new report published Jan. 5, "Thriving on Our Changing Planet: A Decadal Strategy for Earth Observation from Space," the Aerospace Corp. provided cost and technical evaluations of major projects and technology proposed. Nevertheless, authors of the 2017 decadal survey lauded the work of the 2007 decadal committee, and recommended NASA continue to carry out its current missions based on the report. — Debra Werner  Here's a summary of the missions recommended in 2007 and how they've fared:   Copyright © 2018 SpaceNews Inc., All rights reserved. Our mailing address is: SpaceNews Inc. 1414 Prince St, Suite 204 Alexandria, VA 22314