Session
Technical Session VIII: New Mission Concepts II
Abstract
APL examined technology and space segment options for the polar orbiting spacecraft of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The principal finding is that the choice of satellite configuration, rather than the particular technology of flight hardware, is the dominant factor that can reduce space segment costs when viewed over a mission life-cycle. For example, the study shows that fewer than half the number of individual instruments-- many of which are quite expensive-- need be purchased and launched over a 15 year period if each of NOAA's polar orbiting satellites were implemented as four small spacecraft rather than one large platform as is now the norm. This result is a direct consequence of NOAA's operational mandate, for which data continuity from certain critical instruments is a mission requirement. These results generalize to any multiple-sensor scenario for which data continuity is a major consideration. It is concluded that a multiple small satellite space segment configuration may be more responsive to NOAA's objectives, but only if the impacts on the ground segment can be shown to be acceptable, which requires further study.
Small Satellites and NOAA: A Technology Study
APL examined technology and space segment options for the polar orbiting spacecraft of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The principal finding is that the choice of satellite configuration, rather than the particular technology of flight hardware, is the dominant factor that can reduce space segment costs when viewed over a mission life-cycle. For example, the study shows that fewer than half the number of individual instruments-- many of which are quite expensive-- need be purchased and launched over a 15 year period if each of NOAA's polar orbiting satellites were implemented as four small spacecraft rather than one large platform as is now the norm. This result is a direct consequence of NOAA's operational mandate, for which data continuity from certain critical instruments is a mission requirement. These results generalize to any multiple-sensor scenario for which data continuity is a major consideration. It is concluded that a multiple small satellite space segment configuration may be more responsive to NOAA's objectives, but only if the impacts on the ground segment can be shown to be acceptable, which requires further study.
