COSMIC-2 (Constellation Observing System for Meteorology, lonosphere, and Climate-2)
February 10, 2025
What is COSMIC-2?
COSMIC-2 is a 6-satellite constellation developed and operated through a joint effort between the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the National Space Organization (NSPO). The satellites are equipped with special sensors that collect data about the Earth’s atmosphere and ionosphere.
Through collaboration with and funding by the US Air Force, UTD developed and provided the COSMIC-2 lon Velocity Meter instruments that measure properties of the local plasma, including plasma motion, temperature, density and composition. The COSMIC-2 constellation provides an unprecedented low-latitude global dataset of these plasma properties, enabling new investigations of the physics of this region of space.
The COSMIC-2 IVM
The COSMIC-2 IVM combines two legacy plasma sensors, the Retarding Potential Analyzer (RPA) and the lon Drift Meter (IDM), to provide data about the plasma environment along the orbit track of the satellite. Unique data sets are available from the COSMIC-2 instrument due to variations in orbit separation and altitude during various phases of the
mission.
Mission Data and Impact
The primary COSMIC-2 payload, the Tri-GNSS Radio- occultation System (TGRS) provided by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab, utilizes a technique called radio occultation to measure the “bending” of radio signals from global navigation satellites (such as GPS) as those signals pass through the Earth’s atmosphere and ionosphere. This bending provides critical information such as the temperature, pressure, and water vapor content of the atmosphere, helping improve global forecasting and aid in studying Earth’s climate. This also gives us better insight into the processes that cause tropical storms to develop, strengthen, or weaken. The same signals also give information about highly charged regions of the lonosphere. This data is used to understand the effects and impacts of space weather, such as solar storms, on the lonosphere and elements of daily life such as communications.
Launch and Operation
The COSMIC-2 satellites were carried to orbit by a SpaceX Falcon Heavy launch vehicle, along with several secondary payloads, on June 25, 2019. Over a period of 18 months, propulsion was used to separate the 6 satellites to form a uniform longitudinal distribution. Operations are carried out at the NSPO operations center in Hsinchu City, Taiwan, linked to payload operation management in the United States at the UCAR operations facility in Boulder, Colorado.
COSMIC-2 Launch on SpaceX Falcon Heavy
