HR: 1340h
AN: IN13B-1087    [Abstracts]
TI: GeoSTAR: Developing a Microwave Sounder for Geostationary Weather Satellites
AU: * Lambrigtsen, B
EM: Bjorn.Lambrigtsen@jpl.nasa.gov
AF: Jet Propulsion Laboratory, 4800 Oak Grove Drive, Pasadena, CA 91109 United States
AU: Wilson, W
EM: William.Wilson@jpl.nasa.gov
AF: Jet Propulsion Laboratory, 4800 Oak Grove Drive, Pasadena, CA 91109 United States
AU: Tanner, A
EM: Alan.Tanner@jpl.nasa.gov
AF: Jet Propulsion Laboratory, 4800 Oak Grove Drive, Pasadena, CA 91109 United States
AU: Kangaslahti, P
EM: Pekka.Kangaslahti@jpl.nasa.gov
AF: Jet Propulsion Laboratory, 4800 Oak Grove Drive, Pasadena, CA 91109 United States
AU: Gaier, T
EM: Todd.Gaier@jpl.nasa.gov
AF: Jet Propulsion Laboratory, 4800 Oak Grove Drive, Pasadena, CA 91109 United States
AU: Dinardo, S
EM: Steven.Dinardo@jpl.nasa.gov
AF: Jet Propulsion Laboratory, 4800 Oak Grove Drive, Pasadena, CA 91109 United States
AU: Brown, S
EM: Shannon.Brown@jpl.nasa.gov
AF: Jet Propulsion Laboratory, 4800 Oak Grove Drive, Pasadena, CA 91109 United States
AU: Piepmeier, J
EM: Jeffrey.Piepmeier@nasa.gov
AF: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Mailstop 555.0, Greenbelt, MD 20771
AU: Ruf, C
EM: cruf@umich.edu
AF: University of Michigan, 1521C Space Research Building, Ann Arbor, MI 48109 United States
AB: The Geostationary Synthetic Thinned Aperture Radiometer (GeoSTAR) is a new concept for a microwave sounder, intended to be deployed on NOAA's next generation of geostationary weather satellites, the GOES-R series. A ground based prototype has been developed at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, under NASA Instrument Incubator Program (IIP) sponsorship, and is now undergoing tests and performance characterization. With the aperture synthesis approach used by GeoSTAR it is possible to achieve very high spatial resolutions even in the crucial 50-GHz temperature sounding band without having to deploy the impractically large parabolic reflector antenna that is required with the conventional approach. GeoSTAR will finally, after many years of searching for a solution, make it possible to add a microwave sounder to the GOES instrument suite - a capability that is crucial for monitoring cloudy regions and severe storms. The technology and system design required for GeoSTAR are rapidly maturing, and it is expected that a space demonstration mission can be developed before the first GOES-R launch. GeoSTAR will be ready for operational deployment 2-3 years after that. The prototype developed under IIP implements a small version of the temperature sounding component of GeoSTAR, is fully functional as a sounder and has all of the features and capabilities of an operational system with the exception of spatial resolution. It therefore represents a complete proof of concept as well as significant risk reduction for a space implementation. Further technology risk reduction, with particular focus on the 183-GHz water vapor sounding band, is also under way.
DE: 1640 Remote sensing (1855)
DE: 1855 Remote sensing (1640)
DE: 1895 Instruments and techniques: monitoring
DE: 3360 Remote sensing
DE: 3394 Instruments and techniques
SC: Earth and Space Science Informatics [IN]
MN: Fall Meeting 2005