Meteorological Application Of

Satellites

Pothina Surya RaoRutuja Anandgaonkar

Saranya VSDepartment of Space Engineering and Rocketry

BIRLA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY MESRA : RANCHI

Flooding events across Europe in August 2002 cost in the region of €20 billion;

20,000 people died as a result of the summer heat wave in Europe in 2003;

In summer 2004 annual monsoons left 5 million homeless and more than 1,800 dead in India, Nepal, and Bangladesh;

An unusual number a major hurricanes struck the US between August and September in 2004 and 2005 killing a large number of people and causing $bns of damage.

The Need of Forecasting Severe Weather

Meteorological weather balloons, Sounding Rockets and satellites are mainly used to Evaluate large scale weather forecasting..

Sounding Balloon Meteorology

Picture taken at approximately 30 km above Oregon, Portland using a 1,500 gram weather balloon

Rawinsonde weather balloon just after launch. Notice a parachute in the center of the string and a small instrument box at the end. After release it measures many parameters. These include temperature, relative humidity, pressure, and wind speed and wind direction. This information is transmitted back to surface observers

Sounding Rocket MeteorologyA sounding rocket, sometimes called

a research rocket, is an instrument-carrying rocket designed to take measurements and perform scientific experiments during its sub-orbital flight.

The rockets are used to carry instruments from 50 to 1,500 kilometers (31 to 932 mi)[ above the surface of the Earth.

Its altitude generally  lies between weather balloons and satellites 

the maximum altitude for balloons is about 40 kilometers (25 mi) and the minimum for satellites is approximately 120 kilometers (75 mi)

Satellite Meteorology

Heat wave and forest fire

Hurricane Track Forecasting

Detection of storms …

History Of Meteorological Satellites Year Item Country

1960

1966

1970

1975

1977

1982

1994

1997

First meteorological satellite TIROS 1 launchedFirst geostationary meteorological satellite ATS-1 launchedNOAA series launched

GOES launched

GMS and METEOSAT launched

INSAT launched

GOMS launched

FY- II launched

USA

USA

USA

USA

Japan, Europe

India

Russia

China

NASA satellites GOES East and GOES West

Hurricane Joaquin

providing data on rainfall, heat levels, & cloud height.

Atlantic ocean , Cuba coast

Television & Infra - Red Observation Satellite

TIROS 1 launched on April 1, 1960, was intended as a scientific experiment and was very simple.

Its observation instruments consisted only of two television- type cameras, together with tape recorders and radio equipment.

Within a short time of its going into orbit, TIROS 1 began transmitting pictures that showed clearly a variety of cloud formations and patterns.

Image Of The TIROS 1

First TV Picture From TIROS 1

Earth From TIROS 1

Satellites Satellite Launch Date Failure/

Deactivated TIROS-1 April 1, 1960 June 15,

1960 TIROS-2 November 23,

1960 January 22, 1961

TIROS-3 July 12, 1961

February 28, 1962

TIROS-4 February 8, 1962

June 30, 1962

TIROS-5 June 19, 1962

May 13, 1963

TIROS-6 September 18, 1962

October 21, 1963

TIROS-7 June 19, 963

June 3, 1968

TIROS-8 December 21, 1963

July 1, 1967

TIROS-9 January 22, 1965

February 15, 1967

TIROS-10 July 2, 1965

July 31, 1966

As of June 2009, all TIROS satellites launched between 1960 and 1965 (with the exception of TIROS7) were still in orbit.

Structure The first eight TIROS, launched between April 1, 1960 and

December 21, 1963, are similar in general design.

They have a drum like shape, 42 inches in diameter and 19 to 20 inches high, and weigh about 270 pounds.

The top sides are covered with solar cells to generate electricity for the cameras and radio transmitters.

The orbital period of the orbit of TIROS is close to 100 minutes, and so during each day, i.e., 1440 minutes, the satellite makes roughly 14 orbits.

All the TIROS satellites have carried two small vidicon – type cameras, one at least having a wide field of view 450 to 750 miles.

In addition to the cameras, several of the later TIROS spacecraft were equipped with radiometers or radiation sensors

Operation Operation of the cameras on the TIROS

spacecraft is controlled from 3 command and data acquisition centres in U.S.A.

During each pass of the TIROS within communication range of one of the CDA stations, instructions can be transmitted, at 30 second intervals, of up to 32 photographs of a remote location.

The pictures are stored on magnetic tape and are read out upon command the next time the satellite is within 1500 miles or less of a CDA station

The transmission period for 32 pictures is about 3 minutes

TIROS-N/NOAAThe TIROS-N/NOAA Program was NASA's next

step in improving the operational capability of the TIROS system.

The TIROS-N/NOAA satellite series carried the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR).

The satellite also carried an atmospheric sounding system and a solar proton monitor.

This satellite carried a data collection platform used to receive, process and store information from free floating balloons and buoys worldwide.

An Image Of The TIROS – N/NOAA

The objective of the series is to provide high resolution, day and night quantitative environmental data on local and global scales.

The spacecraft was rectangular shaped (146" long by 74" high) with one large solar panel attached.

The satellite was Earth oriented, three-axis stabilized and weighed 1594 pounds.

TIROS-N was placed in a near circular, (470nm) polar orbit. The craft provided high-resolution scanned images, vertical temperature and moisture profiles to both operational meteorologists and private interests.

Structure

AN HRPT IMAGE FROM A NOAA SATELLITE

NIMBUS Satellites

There are certain limitations of the Tiros satellites, like:

The orbital inclination was at 580, the earth coverage is limited.

The Tiros satellites are spin stabilised, so that they are oriented with reference to inertial space.

The spin axis as a result of magnetic and gravitational effects caused the observed area to shift between the Northern and Southern Hemispheres of the globe.

To overcome these limitations the next generation satellites the NIMBUS satellites are designed.

Why NIMBUS Satellites Designed??

How It Differs From TIROS Satellite

NIMBUS Satellite TIROS Satellite

Nimbus is Earth-oriented, so that its television cameras and radiometers always point directly to Earth.

Tiros is inertial space oriented and not always point towards the earth.

The nimbus satellite orbits are nominally circular at an altitude of about 500 to 700 miles.

The Tiros satellite orbits are nominally Elliptical at an altitude of about 400 to 470 miles.

The angle of inclination of the nimbus orbits to the equator is 80 degree; are almost polar, the expected Earth coverage is from 800 N to 800S latitude.

The orbital inclination was at 580 at most, the earth coverage is limited.

The orbital periods of Nimbus satellite is about 105 minutes and there are slightly 14 orbits per day.

The orbital periods of Tiros satellite is close to 100 minutes and it makes 14 orbits per day.

Design Structure of Nimbus Satellite

The NIMBUS instrumentation and associated equipment like television cameras, radiometers and transmitters are carried in an annular ring called sensory ring which is always directed towards the earth, which is at the lower end of the space craft.

The hexagonal housing, above the sensory ring, containing the attitude stabilization and control system.

• The two panels covered

with 10500 solar cells (on each side of central housing) can rotate about a shaft and a Sun sensor located on this shaft keeps the two panels always facing the sun.

The total height of the nimbus satellite is about 10 feet and its weight is 830 pounds.

Design Structure of Nimbus Satellite

NIMBUS Series and Their Missions Duration

Spacecraft Launch Date End of Operation

NIMBUS - 1 Aug. 28, 1964 1964

NIMBUS - 2 May 15, 1966 Jan. 17, 1969

NIMBUS - 3 April 14, 1969 Jan. 23, 1972

NIMBUS - 4 April 8, 1970 Sept. 30, 1980

NIMBUS - 5 Dec. 11, 1972 1973

NIMBUS - 6 June 12, 1975 1983

NIMBUS - 7 Oct. 24, 1978 1995

NIMBUS – 7 Satellite Orbit: Sun-Synchronous

polar orbit Apogee: 954 km Perigee: 941 km Orbital inclination: 99.150

Orbital period: 104.16 minutes

Mission Status of NIMBUS - 7 The NIMBUS-7 spacecraft

was turned off in 1995 after more than 16 years of service, was regarded as the single most significant source of experimental data from Earth’s orbit relating to atmospheric and oceanic processes.

Nimbus observations on these globes show ozone concentrations (blue areas) over Antarctica in selected Octobers from 1979-85 began to drop.

Nimbus Program Key Achievements

NIMBUS paved the way for future earth observing systems such as Aqua, Terra, Aura, Landsat, and many more.

First to provide daylight and night-time pictures of intense hurricane clouds viewed from space, which initiated the use of satellite technology to provide hurricane warnings.

First to measure ozone columns and profiles from space, which led to confirmation of the ozone hole.

First to provide global, direct observations of the amount of solar radiations entering and existing Earth’s system.

Demonstrated the first technology that allowed satellites to track movements of people, animals and items on the Earth. This paved a way for GPS technology.

First capability to globally measure the temperature in a planetary atmosphere quantitatively and qualitatively from space. This paved the way for instruments on NASA’s Voyager, Cassini, etc...

First to provide snow depth and snow accumulation rates over Arctic and Antarctica. This paved a way for other NASA satellites such as Terra and Aqua.

First solar panels on a satellite that track the Sun during the daylight portion of an orbit.

Nimbus Program Key Achievements cont..

Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES)

The GOES supports weather forecasting, severe storm tracking and metrological  research.

Designed to operate in geostationary orbit 35,790 km (22,240 statute miles) above the earth, the advanced GOES I–M spacecraft continuously view the continental United States, the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, Central, South America and southern Canada.

Launch Of The GEOS- N Satellite

The three-axis, body-stabilized spacecraft design enables the sensors to "stare" at the earth and thus more frequently image clouds, monitor earth's surface temperature and water vapour fields.

GOES spacecraft also provide a platform for the Solar X-Ray Imager (SXI), and space environment monitoring (SEM) instruments.

The SEM measures in situ the effect of the sun on the near-earth solar-terrestrial electromagnetic environment, providing real-time data to the Space Environment Services Centre (SESC).

The SXI provides high-cadence monitoring of large scale solar structures to supports SESC's monitoring mission.

Operation

Observations

Visible Light Image Water Vapour Image

Four GOES satellites are currently available for operational use:

GOES-12 is designated GOES-South, currently located at 60°W .

GOES 13 is designated GOES-East, currently located at 75°W. It was placed in orbit on 24 May 2006, underwent Post-Launch Testing through early 2007, then replaced GOES 12 as GOES-East.

GOES 14 is currently in storage at 90°W. It was launched on 27 June 2009, underwent Post-Launch Testing until December 2009 and then was placed in on-orbit storage at 105° W.

GOES 15 was launched on 4 March 2010 and is designated GOES-West, currently located at 135°W over the Pacific Ocean.

Current Status

Meteorological Satellites Of IndiaIndia Meteorological Department (IMD)

is the primary user of meteorological payload on INSAT satellites

At present, KALPANA-1, INSAT-3A and INSAT-3D satellites are supporting the meteorological imaging and data collections.

The monitoring of cyclone intensity, its location, and various other weather systems such as fog, thunderstorms, Western disturbances and Norwesters, etc., are done by Satellite images and data

Indian National Satellite (INSAT)

INSAT is a series of multi-purpose geo-stationary satellites launched by ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation) to satisfy the telecommunications, broadcasting, meteorology and search and rescue operations.

These satellites have the Very High resolution Radiometer (VHRR), CCD Cameras for metrological imaging. INSAT is the joint venture of the Department of Space, Department of Telecommunications, India Meteorological Department, All India Radio and Doordarshan. INSAT is the largest domestic communication system in Asia Pacific Region.

INSAT System

INSAT system ushered in a revolution in India’s television and radio broadcasting, telecommunications and metrological sectors.

The first successfully launched INSAT is INSAT-1B in august 1983.

These satellites are monitored and master control facilities that exist in Hassan and Bhopal.

INSAT-1B

Satellites in Service Of the 24 satellites launched by India in the

course of INSAT program, 10 satellites are still in operation.

The signals broadcasting from the ground to satellite is called Up-linking and reverse is called Down-linking.Downlink

Frequency (GHz)Up-link Frequency

(GHz)S Band 2.555 to 2.635 5.885 to 5.935

Extended C Band

(Lower)

3.4 to 3.7 5.725 to 5.925

C Band 3.7 to 4.2 5.925 to 6.425

Extended C Band

(Upper)

4.5 to 4.8 6.425 to 7.075

Ku Band 18.3 to 22.20 27.0 to 31.00

INSAT – 2E INSAT - 3A

Launched in April 1999, positioned at 83 degree east longitude. It carries payloads include 17 C-Band and lower extended C-Band transponders.

Some of them are:

Launched in April 2003, positioned at 93.5 degree east longitude. It carries payloads include 12 C-Band transponders, 6 lower extended C-Band transponders and 6 Ku transponders.

Satellites in Service (Cont..)

INSAT – 3D

Launched in Jan. 2002, positioned at 74 degree east longitude. It carries payloads include 24 normal C-band transponders, 6 extended C-Band transponders and 2 S-band transponders.

Launched in July 2013, positioned at 82 degree east longitude. It carries payloads include imager, sounder, data relay transponder and research and rescue transponder.

INSAT – 3C

INSAT – 3E

Launched in Sept. 2003, positioned at 55 degree east longitude. It carries payloads include 24 normal C-band transponders and12 extended C-Band transponders.

It is an exclusive meteorological satellite launched by PSLV in Sept. 2002. It carries VHRR and DRT payloads to provide meteorological services. It is located at 74 degree East longitude.

KALPANA – 1

Kalpana-1

MetSat-1 is ISRO's first dedicated GEO Weather satellite project built by ISRO

Feb.6,2003, the MetSat-1 satellite of ISRO was renamed to 

Kalpana-1 meteorological services had been combined with

telecommunication and television services in the INSAT series

infrared image of cyclone Phet from satellite kalpana -1

Kalpana-1 The MetSat-1 spacecraft was launched into GEO on

Sept. 12, 2002 with ISRO's PSLV -C4 (Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle) from the "Satish Dhawan Space Center, SHAR," India (initial GTO of ~ 220 km x 34,500 km with 17.67o inclination).

The Kalpana-1/MetSat-1 spacecraft and its payload are operating nominally in 2015 (in its 13th year on orbit developed by ISAC (ISRO Satellite Center

The spacecraft has a launch mass of 1055 kg including 560 kg of propellant (495 kg S/C dry mass). MetSat-1 has a design life of 7 years with an operational goal of 10 years.

The propulsion system employed is a unified bi-propellant with mono-methyl hydrazine (MMH) as fuel and mixed oxides of nitrogen (MON3) as oxidize

Very high resolution radiometer (VHRR2) and date relay transponder (DRT) is used to transfer the data.

Meteorological Sounding Rockets sounding rockets are used to test

instruments used on satellites and spacecraft and to provide information about the Sun, stars, galaxies and Earth's atmosphere and radiation.

After a thrust phase, they generally have a ballistic flight phase before touching or splashing down

Sounding rockets are much appreciated too for numerous training and educational programmes linked to space sciences

payload Rocket motor

Sounding Rocket And Vapour TracersIn addition to gathering measurements using instruments, another standard sounding rocket experiment used by scientists involves the creation of visible trails and “clouds” through the release of vapors that either glow on their own (i.e., luminescence) or scatter sunlight.  Scientists monitor and take pictures of the subsequent trails and clouds for extended time periods in order to learn how the upper atmosphere and/or the ionosphere moves and evolves.Commonly used vapors that are released in space are:Tri-methyl aluminum (TMA)LithiumBarium.

Luminous vapor trail of tri-methyl aluminum (TMA)

Tri-methyl aluminum reacts with oxygen and produces chemi-luminescence when exposed to the atmosphere.

The products of the reaction are aluminum oxide, carbon dioxide, and water vapor, which also occur naturally in the atmosphere.

reveals neutral winds, shears, gravity waves, and instabilities in the lower ionosphere at night at altitudes of 100 miles (160 kilometers) or less.

Barium is used to study the motion of both ions and neutrals in space.

A fraction of a barium cloud ionizes quickly when exposed to sunlight and has a purple-red color.

Its motions can be used to track the motion of the charged particles in the ionosphere.

The remainder of the barium release is neutral, having a different color, and can be used to track the motion of the neutral particles in the upper atmosphere.

A small quantity of strontium or lithium is sometimes added to the barium mixture to enhance the neutral barium emissions, making it easier to track the neutral cloud. 

.

Barium trail

Lithium vapor is also used to study neutral winds in the upper atmosphere.

Lithium gas has an unusually bright narrow-band emission at 670.7 nanometers, a wavelength in the infrared range, which enables it to be visible in the daytime with cameras with infrared filters.

Lithium is the only vapor that can be imaged during the day and is also one of the few vapors that can be used at high altitudes (> 124 miles or 200 kilometers) at night. At night, its color is bright red

Lithium Trail

Sounding rockets are advantageous for some research because of their low cost, short lead time (sometimes less than six months) and their ability to conduct research in areas inaccessible to either balloons or satellites.

They are also used as test beds for equipment that will be used in more expensive and risky orbital spaceflight missions. 

The smaller size of a sounding rocket also makes launching from temporary sites possible allowing for field studies at remote locations, even in the middle of the ocean, if fired from a ship

Advantages of sounding rockets

Conclusion An exhaustive study on the various

meteorological satellites and its applications has been presented. 

TIROS, GOES and NOAA were the pioneering satellites in this field and were a ground breaking innovation.

It was then shown that the nimbus satellite was more favourable and advanced than the TIROS and the NOAA.

The meteorological satellite used by India – KALPANA 1 help get India on the map.

Sounding rockets are the most useful at affordable use of resources and are a perfect example of reusable rockets which is the need of the current space endeavours.

References Mc.Quain,R.: Significant Achievements in

Space applications 1966 by Scientific and technical division , NASA , 1967. vol.4 ,pp. 66 – 75.

Glasstone,S.: Sourcebook on the space science., by Nostrand company. Vol.5, pp. 240-261

directory.eoportal.orgwww.isro.gov.inwww.nasa.govscience.nasa.govScatmag.com, Tech Articles

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