COLUMBUS – The technology on board The Ohio State University’s first satellite could be vital for Earth science missions into the future, making it easier to sort through data that may help forecast the impact of natural events like storms.
CubeSat Radiometer Radio Frequency Interference Technology (CubeRRT) Validation mission is scheduled to launch from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Wallops Island, Va., on May 20 at 5:04 a.m. Live launch coverage will begin at 4:30 a.m. on NASA Television and the agency’s website.
The technology on board the CubeRRT satellite (named after “Q*bert,” a popular video arcade game of the 1980s) is designed to break through noisy radio transmissions that can interfere with efforts to record data from orbiting satellites.
The data comes from reading radiometers: natural microwave frequencies which provide data that helps scientists determine soil moisture, sea temperature, sea ice coverage, weather and other conditions, says project leader Joel Johnson, professor and chair of electrical and computer engineering at OSU.
Days before Hurricane Matthew struck in 2016, Ohio State researchers using satellite maps of soil moisture to predict with 91 percent accuracy where power would go out along the East Coast. They forecast that 4.5 million people would be without power in Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia.
The predictions relied on data from NASA’s Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) satellite data and its radiometer processing technology. The forecast model was constructed by cross-referencing SMAP data with population density, land use, average wind speed and the duration and intensity of storms to make their forecast model, said Steven Quiring, professor of atmospheric sciences in the Department of Geography at Ohio State,
However, manmade transmissions muddy the waters and CubeRRT is meant to cut through the clutter.
“Many of our team members worked together on the RFI processor used in the SMAP mission. The CubeRRT RFI processor greatly expands capabilities and enables operations in higher frequency bands than were used in SMAP,” Johnson said.
The goal of this mission is to demonstrate the processor so future satellites can use it, Johnson said.
“The success of CubeRRT in space will demonstrate a new processing technology that will be very valuable,” he said.
CubeRRT will be sent to the International Space Station which will deploy it this summer. The satellite will remain in orbit 400 kilometers above Earth for about a year to demonstrate the validity of the technology and will eventually burn up as the orbit diminishes during re-entry, said research scientist Chris Ball.