Hydrosat Cloud Top Temperature Monitoring

The Air Force, Space Force, and DoD have an acute need for high spatial and hightemporal resolution thermal imaging satellite datasets. These datasets provide theinsights required for decision making superiority and full spectrum awareness on andoff the battlefield. This solution's mission impact will strengthen the execution of theNational Defense Strategy in many ways, specifically by vastly improving weatherprediction and modeling for mission planning, rehearsal, operational awareness, andmunitions launching. Additionally, this solution will build on the successes of theprior Phase II efforts, where Hydrosat demonstrated the ability to enableautomated detections of thermal anomalies, providing the DoD with key insights suchas brownout and dust-out conditions for aerial operations planning, land transporttrafficability, adversary facility monitoring, and other key intelligence signals. Thisproject will accelerate Hydrosat’s daily land surface temperate satellite datasets anddelivery systems, demonstrate how high-resolution cloud top temperature data can beassimilated into and greatly improve cloud and weather prediction models that theDoD can operationalize, and further extend and adapt to DoD mission needs toimprove Combatant Commander’s decision-making ability.Traditionally used geostationary satellites provide excellent temporal resolution forevolving cloud dynamics, however, they are limited to coarse spatial resolution,sacrificing knowledge of detailed cloud structure, which is critical for capturinghighly heterogeneous clouds and atmospheric energy systems. There are alsochallenges in combining data from disparate geostationary instruments across regions.To develop the next-generation weather prediction for defense and security,DoD needs cloud top temperature measurements at both high temporal-resolution andhigh spatial-resolution.Hydrosat presents a game-changer in high-resolution cloud top temperature andsurface temperature space based environmental monitoring, beyond what anycivil agency or commercial entity is currently doing or plans to do. Hydrosat hasdeveloped technology enabling a constellation of smallsat thermal infrared andvisible-to-near-infrared satellites. This constellation will provide high resolution(< 50 m) data, globally, every day, multiple times per day. These datasetsprovide unprecedented insight into cloud temperature structure and energy withincreased frequency and increased resolution.The proposed technological solution demonstrates how high-resolution cloud toptemperature can be assimilated into and improve cloud and weather predictionmodels. Such a solution can serve as foundational justification for greater effort atoperationalizing such assimilation into the DoD’s cloud and weather predictionsystems. Utilizing Hydrosat’s capabilities demonstrated in the Phase II efforts andthrough the tasks outlined in this proposal, this project will aim to accomplish theseobjectives to meet the DAF’s mission objectives.