COSMIC Update and Highlights 8 November 2007 COSMIC launch picture provided by Orbital Sciences Corporation All six satellites stacked and launched on a Minotaur rocket Initial orbit altitude ~500 km; inclination ~72 By Dec 2007 will be maneuvered into six different orbital planes for optimal global coverage (at ~800 km altitude) Launch on April 14, 2006 Vandenberg AFB, CA Mariner IV at Mars July 1965 Planetary Radio Occultation Radio occultation was first applied to Planetary atmospheres by teams at Stanford U. and NASA/JPL GCOS Implementation Plan for the Global Observing System for Climate October 2004 Action A20 (AF13): GPS RO measurements should be made available in real time, incorporated into operational data streams, and sustained over the long-term. [ GCOS-92, WMO/TD No. 1219, October 2004] First ever constellation of RO satellites! Major international interest! GPS Occultation Basic measurement principle: Deduce atmospheric properties based on precise measurement of phase delay and amplitude. Global observations of: Pressure, Temperature, Humidity Refractivity Ionospheric Electron Density GPS Radio Occultation (RO) Data Climate: Characterize climate, its variability and change Evaluate global climate models and analyses Monitor climate change and variability with unprecedented accuracy- worlds most accurate thermometer! Meteorology: Improve global weather analyses, particularly over data void regions such as the oceans and polar regions Improve skill of global and regional weather prediction models Improve understanding of tropical, midlatitude and polar weather systems and their interactions Ionosphere: Characterize global electronic density distribution Observe the interactions among the upper stratosphere, mesosphere and ionosphere Improve the analysis and prediction of space weather. Heritage of FORMOSAT-3/COSMIC July 1965 Mariner IV mission to Mars ~1988 JPL proposes RO mission for Earth 1993 UCAR GPS/Met proposal to NSF UCAR GPS/MET-1 st RO mission for Earth 1996 Concept of ROCSAT-3/COSMIC originated in Taiwan (UCAR and NSC) 1998 First tech support agreement NSPO 2001 FORMOSAT-3/COSMIC project begins 2006 Launch April 14, 2006 A COSMIC Education Module A joint effort by COMET and COSMIC. It covers: - Basics of GPS radio occultation science - Applications to weather, climate, and ionosphere - COSMIC Mission description * Select the 'Sign Up ' link under COSMIC Accept data use agreement * Enter information: Name, Address,, user_id, Password, planned use of data Anwill be sent within 2-3 business days to indicate access has been granted. COSMIC Data Access More than 350 users have registered RO-Research to Ops RO data will be valuable to: Weather prediction Climate monitoring and analysis ionospheric research and space weather forecasting Complement other satellite observing systems Need plan for transition from research into operations COSMIC II Characteristics of GPS RO Data Limb sounding geometry complementary to ground and space nadir viewing instruments Global 3-D coverage 40 km to surface High accuracy (equivalent to