The CYGNSS ground segment; innovative mission operations concepts to support a micro-satellite constellation

Hurricane track forecasts have improved in accuracy by ~50% since 1990, while in that same period there has been essentially no improvement in the accuracy of intensity prediction. One of the main problems in addressing intensity occurs because the rapidly evolving stages of the tropical cyclone (TC) life cycle are poorly sampled in time by conventional polar-orbiting, wide-swath surface wind imagers. NASA's most recently awarded Earth science mission, the NASA EV-2 Cyclone Global Navigation Satellite System (CYGNSS) has been designed to address this deficiency by using a constellation of micro-satellite-class Observatories designed to provide improved sampling of the TC during its life cycle. Managing a constellation of Observatories has classically resulted in an increased load on the ground operations team as they work to create and maintain schedules and command loads for multiple Observatories. Using modern tools and technologies at the Mission Operations Center (MOC) in conjunction with key components implemented in the flight system and an innovative strategy for pass execution coordinated with the ground network operator, the CYGNSS mission reduces the burden of constellation operations to a level commensurate with the low-cost mission concept. This paper focuses on the concept of operations for the CYGNSS constellation as planned for implementation at the CYGNSS MOC in conjunction with the selected ground network operator.