Matthew Nelson
BAE Systems is looking to develop miniature spectrometers for microsatellites to help the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration gather high-resolution weather and climate data, SpaceNews reported Monday.
The company plans to mount the Midwave Infrared Sounding of Temperature and Humidity in a Constellation for Winds or Mistic Winds instrument into each satellite in a weather constellation in low Earth orbit to collect weather data from the stratosphere and the troposphere.
BAE also eyes the integration into satellites of the Longwave Sounding Spectrometer for Temperature and humidity in a Constellation or LlSTiC, a sensor designed to explore vertical temperature profiles.
"What we really would like to do is help the country obtain better weather forecasting with innovative hyperspectral instruments that observe more than a thousand different wavelengths to characterize the atmosphere," said Lawrence Schaefer, program director for space systems advanced development at BAE.
BAE received $376K in funds from NOAA to study the feasibility of mounting infrared sensors on satellites. The research was conducted over a six-month period and was completed in October.
