Commercial SAR Augmentation for Scatterometry and Wind Speed Estimation

Toyon Research Corporation teamed with Goleta Star LLC and supported by Lockheed Martin Corporation is proposing to develop a conceptual design for augmenting existing and emerging commercial low-earth orbit synthetic aperture radar constellations to provide timely ocean wind condition estimates. The Toyon team will perform analysis of existing and emerging capability, design augmented constellation orbits to provide worldwide coverage with maximum of 6-hour latency of wind speed estimates and develop sensor augmentation designs. Furthermore, imaging and estimation algorithms will be developed at technology readiness level 3-4 to produce traditional scatterometry based estimates from single look complex synthetic aperture images leveraging fully polarimetric constrained imaging with reference geophysical models.  The Toyon team’s analysis will focus on minimizing augmentation costs and maximizing use of existing and upcoming commercial capability as a gap filler as dedicated Government controlled satellites are upgraded. Successful completion of this proposed program will result in a robust trade space analysis and conceptual design of a commercial satellite-based vector wind speed and cyclone warning system that minimizes instantiation cost as well as extending single look complex radar imagery to include polarimetric constrained imaging.