Veery Fledgling Nanosatellite Pathfinder for Coarse Sea Wind

This proposal by Care Weather presents the development of Veery, a nanosatellite-based scatterometer, to significantly enhance global ocean surface vector winds (OSVW) monitoring. The current daily refresh rate of OSVW is insufficient to capture the dynamic changes occurring on hourly scales, crucial for understanding synoptic air-sea interactions and extreme weather phenomena. Veery proposes to achieve a near-hourly refresh rate, thereby filling critical gaps in our understanding of atmospheric phenomena like tropical cyclones and extratropical systems. The innovation lies in miniaturizing and cost-reducing scatterometer technology, traditionally large and expensive, into a nanosatellite form factor. This is accomplished through a vertically-integrated satellite system, designed specifically for scatterometry. The proposed Phase I project aims to demonstrate the feasibility of key improvements in Care Weather’s attitude determination and control systems (ADCS), radio, and radar technologies, paving the way for Fledgling Veery, a pathfinder capable of demonstrating nanosatellite measurement of limited OSVW. This project represents a significant leap in satellite scatterometry, promising a cost-effective, scalable approach to global OSVW monitoring.