Background

The Satellite Needs Working Group (SNWG)-2016 Assessment found that increasing NASA/Indian Space Research Organisation Synthetic Aperture Radar's (NISAR) data collection resolution from 20 MHz (7.5x12 m) to 40 MHz (3.75x6 m) and increasing the signal polarization diversity from dual-pol to quad-pol over North America (Canada to Panama, Hawaii and United States (U.S.) Territories) would widely support satellite needs for all of the U.S. Government land monitoring Agencies. While NISAR has the on-orbit capacity to collect the added data requested by the SNWG, NASA lacked sufficient downlink stations to meet the added data volume. The SNWG-2016 supported the installation of a new downlink station that increased the dedicated downlink capacity of NISAR by 9 Tbits/day.  

Status

Near Space Network (NSN) installed a new downlink station at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia to support the added data volume for NISAR’s SNWG activities.  The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) did not approve NASA’s NISAR proposed 40 MHz quad-pol collection mode.  The SNWG community and the NISAR Science Team  recommended the 40MHz (3.75  x 6m) dual-pol data to meet the community’s needs. 

Solution Characteristics

Societal Impact

The addition of a North America downlink station for NISAR enabled the highest resolution land imaging mode for North America and U.S. Territories. This capability will support measurement needs for every land monitoring agency and will provide better imagery for disaster response, crop assessment, infrastructure stability, and more. Furthermore, the new NISAR downlink station made it possible to produce a global soil moisture product and collect coastal North America ocean data that would not have been possible otherwise.

Solution Resources

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