POLAR TELESCIENCE VIA SATELLITE COMMUNICATION RELAY

PRESENT COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS, WHICH ACQUIRE AND DISTRIBUTE DATA FROM OCEAN- AND POLAR-BASED INSTRUMENT PLATFORMS, HAVE LIMITED THROUGHPUT CAPABILITIES AND NO CAPABILITY FOR COMMAND AND CONTROL OF THE APPARATUS. THIS PROJECT OFFERS AN AFFORDABLE APPROACH TO GREATLY IMPROVED POLAR TELESCIENCE. IT SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASES COMMUNICATION CAPACITY AND REDUCES DELAYS IN THE DATA RECOVERY OPERATION FOR DEPLOYED SYSTEMS. IT USES A LOW ALTITUDE, POLAR-ORBITING, DATA COLLECTION SATELLITE PLATFORM, IN CONJUNCTION WITH COMMERCIAL COMMUNICATION SATELLITES, TO PROVIDE DIRECT WORLDWIDE RECOVERY AND DISTRIBUTION OF DATA FROM IN-SITU INSTRUMENTATION PLATFORMS. IT ALSO PROVIDES A COMMAND LINK FOR REMOTE CONTROL OF THE UNTENDED PLATFORMS. THE OVERALL OBJECTIVE OF THE PROJECT IS TO INCREASE THE DAILY DATA THROUGHPUT CAPABILITY BY A FACTOR OF 100 OR MORE, COMPARED TO EXISTING SYSTEMS SUCH AS ARGOS. THE TOTAL SYSTEM COST IS VERY REASONABLE WHICH MAKES IT FEASIBLE TO DEVELOP THE SYSTEM WITH PRIVATE SECTOR FINANCING AND OPERATE IT ON A FEE-FOR-SERVICE BASIS. THE STUDY: (1) EXAMINES USER REQUIREMENTS, (2) DEVELOPS A SYSTEM SPECIFICATION, (3) PREPARES A PRELIMINARY DESIGN OF THE SENSOR PLATFORM AND SATELLITE EQUIPMENT, (4) PERFORMS A COST EFFECTIVENESS ANALYSIS, INCLUDING BUDGETARY LIFE CYCLE COSTS, AND (5) DEVELOPS A PLAN FOR SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT, SIMULATION, AND DEMONSTRATION. THE STUDY EMPHASIZES MINIMIZATION OF TOTAL SYSTEM COMPLEXITY AND COSTS BY USING SIMPLE SENSOR PLATFORM COMMUNICATION PACKAGES, LOW-COST DEPLOYMENT OPTIONS, PROVEN SATELLITE COMPONENTS, AND EXISTING, PROVEN COMSAT SYSTEMS FOR DATA DISTRIBUTION.