Flight Testing a GNSS Radio Occultation Autonomous System for Commercial Space Weather Applications

When passing through the atmosphere, Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) signals are bent by adverse weather. These changes can be detected via radio occultation (RO), making it a cost-effective tool for numerical weather forecasting, climate prediction, and space weather research. Night Crew Labs has developed an autonomous GNSS-RO system to collect relevant data over various atmospheric regimes. The multifrequency receiver and antenna are designed to collect radio occultation profiles for more than a week at altitudes of 15–30 km. A high-speed radio facilitates data transmission. Problem Statement Having led to significant advances in numerical weather prediction, climate prediction, and space weather research, GNSS-RO is regarded as one of the most cost-effective weather and climate tools. Despite there being operational GNSS-RO space satellite missions, gaps still exist in spatial weather data, and remotely sensing low altitudes continues to be difficult. A balloon-based GNSS-RO payload could address these issues by providing high-fidelity, persistent coverage over regions of strong interest during high-impact weather events (e.g., hurricanes, geomagnetic storms, heavy precipitation, droughts) The objective of this experiment is to collect over 1,000 radio occultation profiles and to demonstrate end-to-end delivery of data for weather data assimilation. Technology Maturation A successful flight test program will allow this GNSS-RO payload to autonomously collect relevant data over various atmospheric regimes and enable high-fidelity data quality assessment. It is anticipated to reach TRL 7 after flight tests.

The autonomous GNSS-RO system is designed to be comprehensive, offering highly accurate vertical resolution of refractivity, temperature, and water vapor information. It fills in data gaps left by other GNSS-RO space assets and can be used during high-impact weather events. This would benefit future NASA missions, other government agencies, and the nation. Future Customers • Space weather research • Climate and weather forecasting • Weather data assimilation • Determining potential adverse weather by insurance and utility companies

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