Lars P. Dyrud

GEOScan: A GEOScience Facility From Space

GEOScan is a grassroots effort, proposed as globally networked orbiting observation facility utilizing the main Iridium NEXT 66-satellite constellation. This will create a revolutionary new capability of massively dense, global geoscience observations and targets elusive questions that scientists have not previously been able to answer, and will not answer, until simultaneous global measurements are made. This effort is enabled by Iridium as part of its Hosted Payload Program. By developing a common sensor suite the logistical and cost barriers for transmitting massive amounts of data from 66 satellites configured in 6 orbital planes with 11 evenly spaced slots per plane is removed. Each sensor suite of GEOScans networked orbital observation facility consists of 6 system sensors: a Radiometer to measure Earths total outgoing radiation; a GPS Compact Total Electron Content Sensor to image Earths plasma environment and gravity field; a MicroCam Multispectral Imager to measure global cloud cover, vegetation, land use, and bright aurora, and also take the first uniform instantaneous image of the Earth; a Radiation Belt Mapping System (dosimeters) to measure energetic electron and proton distributions; a Compact Earth Observing Spectrometer to measure aerosol-atmospheric composition and vegetation; and MEMS Accelerometers to deduce non-conservative forces aiding gravity and neutral drag studies. Our analysis shows that the instrument suites evaluated in a constellation configuration onboard the Iridium NEXT satellites are poised to provide major breakthroughs in Earth and geospace science. GEOScan commercial-of-the-shelf instruments provide low-cost space situational awareness and intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance opportunities.

Using hosted payloads on iridium NEXT to provide global warning of volcanic ash

The Iridium NEXT satellite constellation has designed space to accommodate hosted payloads that provided not only access to space but also allow the user to leverage Iridiums real time communication capability. This is ideal for small sensor payloads and mission areas that require real-time data. The detection of volcanic ash is one such application, meeting a critical need of warning aircraft on the location of volcanic ash. To this end, we have described a system concept that uses small lightweight sensors the fit within the Iridium NEXT hosted payload allocation and provide critical data needed to predict the location and movement of volcanic ash in the atmosphere.