The COSMIC-2 mission is a collaboration between National Oceanic. Atmospheric Administration (NOAA-USA), the United States Air Force and the National Space Organization of Taiwan, with the goal of obtaining Global Navigation Satellite System Radio Occultation (RO) Data worldwide. COSMIC-2 is a follow-on mission to the COSMIC-1 constellation and will afford 12 satellites in low and high inclination orbits to collect more RO data. This will enable unprecedented research opportunities for hurricane analysis and prediction in the years to come.
GNSS-RO data are collected by measuring the changes in a radio signal as it is refracted through the atmosphere, allowing derivation of temperatures and moisture in the atmosphere’s layers and electrons in the ionosphere.
Impact:
• Weather Forecasting
• Space Weather Monitoring
• Climate Change Trending
COSMIC-2 is an interdisciplinary satellite mission that significantly advances numerical weather prediction (NWP), space weather monitoring, and climate monitoring. COSMIC-2 data products are accurate and provide high vertical resolution atmospheric measurements in the tropics and sub-tropics (from 40° S to 40° N). These data improve forecasting skill and more specifically produce a positive impact on the prediction of track and intensity of tropical cyclones from genesis to landfall. In addition, COSMIC-2 monitors ionospheric climatology improves physical models and contributes to understanding the coupling between the lower and upper atmosphere.
The COSMIC-2 Program has installed and integrated a Remote Tracking Station (RTS) in the University of Energy & Natural Resources in Sunyani, Ghana. This RTS was commissioned by NOAA’s National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service (NESDIS) to support the launch and on-orbit operations of the Constellation Observing System for Meteorology, Ionosphere, and Climate (COSMIC-2) constellation. The ground station is currently being managed by ATLAS Space Operations, USA and the Earth Observation Research & Innovation Centre(EORIC-UENR), Ghana.
