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IceCube: Spaceflight Validation of an 883-GHz Submillimeter Wave Radiometer for Cloud Ice Remote Sensing (IceCube)
Completed
TRL 7 (started at 5, targeting 7)
Description
Develop and validate a commercially available flight-qualified 874-GHz receiver to enable future cloud ice remote sensing from space Technologies include submillimeter wave 874-GHz receiver (subharmonic mixer, frequency doubler and tripler, V-band multiplied-amplified local oscillator); intermediate frequency (IF) calibration (noise injection and LO power modulation and monitoring). Performance goals are noise temperature < 6000 K with 2-K calibration error over operating temperature range. Retire risk of ice-cloud radiometers in missions like the Decadal Survey's Aerosol, Cloud and Ecosystem (ACE) mission
Details
| Technology area | Sensors and Instruments > Remote Sensing Instruments and Sensors > Microwave, Millimeter Waves, and Submillimeter Waves |
| Program | Earth Science (ESD) |
| Lead organization | NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC |
| Start date | 2014-04-14 |
| End date | 2017-09-30 |
Project contacts
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How to get involved
This is a mature technology (TRL 7) — the realistic path in is usually NASA's Technology Transfer Program: licensing an existing NASA patent, or a Space Act Agreement to use NASA facilities/expertise directly. NASA also runs a startup licensing program with no upfront fee for companies formed to commercialize a specific NASA technology.
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