SeaHawk will be 200 times smaller (10 x 10 x 30 cm 3 versus 50 x 50 x 200 cm 3) and 100 times lighter (~3 kg vs. SeaHawk's low cost, mass, and volume, and short development time should enable more similar EO missions in the future. SeaHawk is a CubeSat fitted with a low-cost, miniature ocean color sensor known as HawkEye that will allow fine-spatial-resolution observations of the ocean. A constellation of EO CubeSats could change this, providing daily or finer temporal resolution and better spatial resolution for dramatically reduced cost.ĬubeSats are small, inexpensive satellites built on a concept created by Stanford University's Space Systems Development Laboratory and California Polytechnic State University, intended to provide less-expensive access to space. For example, the 1997 SeaStar satellite (known later as OrbView-1) with its SeaWiFS (Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-View Sensor) cost more than $100 M, including the sensor, spacecraft, and launch costs. 2) 3)Įarth observing (EO) satellite missions have typically required large spacecraft with multiple payloads, resulting in high costs. Interrupting the ocean color record would hamper the work of climate scientists, fisheries and coastal resource managers, and other users ranging from the military to oil spill responders. Continuous ocean color observation is also essential for monitoring the health of the marine ecosystem and its ability to sustain fisheries. 1) Space observations have transformed biological oceanography, advancing knowledge of carbon and nitrogen cycling, showing how the ocean's biological processes influence climate, and allowing assessment of changes in primary production (the basis of the marine food chain). The National Research Council recently established the need to sustain and advance satellite ocean color research. SeaHawk-1 CubeSat Ocean Color Mission HawkEye Ocean Color Sensor Mission Status References
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