New Observing Capabilities of Passive Microwave Radiometers on a CubeSat: Temporal Experiment for Storms and Tropical Systems Technology Demonstration

Name: The Polisphere: How Nature, Humans, and Infrastructure Shape an Emerging Earth System
Start: 2026-03-23T10:00:00-04:00
End: 2026-03-23T11:00:00-04:00

This event has passed. See the seminar recording here:

Prof. Steven Reising

Colorado State University

Friday October 18, 2019, 12 PM

ESSIC Conference Room 4102, 5825 University Research Ct, College Park, MD 20740

Abstract:

The advent of small satellites and miniaturized instrument technology enables new opportunities for observation from low Earth orbit (LEO). Microwave radiometer systems, such as SSM/I, AMSR-E, AMSU, ATMS, WindSat and GMI, have provided global Earth observations for more than 30 years, including surface wind vector, atmospheric and surface temperature, water vapor, clouds, precipitation, snow and sea ice. These data are critical for weather forecasting, and both the longevity of the data record and careful calibration have enabled their application to climate records. Over the past several years, there have been efforts to develop small satellite solutions for some of these critical measurements. This talk focuses on the Temporal Experiment for Storms and Tropical Systems Technology Demonstration (TEMPEST-D) mission. TEMPEST-D, a five-frequency millimeter-wave cross-track imager/sounder on a 6U CubeSat, has been continuously operating in LEO since September 2018. Comparison of global, on-orbit observations and performance capabilities with those of scientific and operational sensors measuring in similar bands demonstrates the capabilities of TEMPEST-D to perform well-calibrated, stable global observations. Coincident measurements with RainCube rain radar demonstrate the potential for multi-sensor missions. Since small satellite sensors can be built and launched for a small fraction of the cost of traditional large missions, homogeneous or heterogeneous constellations of sensors are considered for new observational approaches to improve temporal and spatial resolution of Earth observations from LEO.

Bio-sketch:

Steven C. Reising is a Professor in the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department at Colorado State University (CSU) in Fort Collins, Colorado. Dr. Reising received the Ph.D. degree in electrical engineering from Stanford University in 1998, where he was supported by a NASA Earth Systems Science Fellowship. Dr. Reising’s research interests focus on remote sensing of the Earth’s atmosphere and oceans from airborne platforms and small satellites, as well as passive remote sensing (radiometer) systems based on low-noise MMICs from microwave to sub-millimeter-wave and THz frequencies (18-880 GHz). He has been Principal Investigator of 14 grants from NASA, National Science Foundation (NSF), Department of Defense, Office of Naval Research, Naval Research Laboratory, NPOESS Integrated Program Office, Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., and the European Space Agency. Dr. Reising served as Associate Editor of the IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Letters from 2004-2013. He has served as academic/research advisor for 17 M.S./Ph.D. students who are currently employed by university, industry and government laboratories in the U.S., Europe and Asia.

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Event site: http://go.umd.edu/reising

Event number: 730 825 735
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