Session
Poster Session 3
Location
Salt Palace Convention Center, Salt Lake City, UT
Abstract
The NASA Instrument Incubator Program funded the initial development of the Global L-band active/passive Observatory for Water cycle Studies (GLOWS) as a NASA Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) data continuity mission. SMAP, launched in 2015, collected L-band radiometer and radar measurements over land and ocean using a large aperture reflector antenna [1,2]. SMAP observations have demonstrated utility in measuring sea surface salinity and ocean vector winds over the ocean, as well as sea ice thickness. While the SMAP quad-polarization radar failed soon after launch, the SMAP polarimetric radiometer continues to provide high quality radiometer measurements to the present.
To address the need for L-band radiometer data continuity and to provide radar measurements to support improved soil moisture estimates and L-band wind speed measurements, we have developed GLOWS which continues the science observations of SMAP at substantially lower cost [3].
SMAP employed a complicated 6 m diameter, offset-fed reflector antenna that rotated at 14 rpm. To reduce the cost of GLOWS, we use a newly-developed deployable membrane meta-material lens antenna [4]. This flat antenna is lightweight and rotationally symmetric. At launch the antenna is densely packed into a small volume. These features simplify accommodation issues to enable a much smaller support spacecraft. Advancements in electronics further enable us to minimize the size, weight, and power (SWaP) of the radar and radiometer components.
GLOWS measurements will support critical ocean measurements such as sea surface salinity (SSS), sea ice, and ocean vector winds. L-band wind speed measurements are much less affected by rain than higher frequency measurements, which makes them particularly valuable for wind measurement in tropical cyclones and hurricanes [4].
Document Type
Event
Accommodating a Very Large Aperture Antenna on a Small Satellite: The Global L-Band Observatory for Water Cycle Studies (GLOWS)
Salt Palace Convention Center, Salt Lake City, UT
The NASA Instrument Incubator Program funded the initial development of the Global L-band active/passive Observatory for Water cycle Studies (GLOWS) as a NASA Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) data continuity mission. SMAP, launched in 2015, collected L-band radiometer and radar measurements over land and ocean using a large aperture reflector antenna [1,2]. SMAP observations have demonstrated utility in measuring sea surface salinity and ocean vector winds over the ocean, as well as sea ice thickness. While the SMAP quad-polarization radar failed soon after launch, the SMAP polarimetric radiometer continues to provide high quality radiometer measurements to the present.
To address the need for L-band radiometer data continuity and to provide radar measurements to support improved soil moisture estimates and L-band wind speed measurements, we have developed GLOWS which continues the science observations of SMAP at substantially lower cost [3].
SMAP employed a complicated 6 m diameter, offset-fed reflector antenna that rotated at 14 rpm. To reduce the cost of GLOWS, we use a newly-developed deployable membrane meta-material lens antenna [4]. This flat antenna is lightweight and rotationally symmetric. At launch the antenna is densely packed into a small volume. These features simplify accommodation issues to enable a much smaller support spacecraft. Advancements in electronics further enable us to minimize the size, weight, and power (SWaP) of the radar and radiometer components.
GLOWS measurements will support critical ocean measurements such as sea surface salinity (SSS), sea ice, and ocean vector winds. L-band wind speed measurements are much less affected by rain than higher frequency measurements, which makes them particularly valuable for wind measurement in tropical cyclones and hurricanes [4].
