Small Satellite Cloud Observation System

We propose the design of an optical instrument package capable of making cloud observations and deployable on a CubeSat. The design will be based on decades of research in cloud remote sensing and each spectral channel will be comprised of a commercial-off-the-shelf camera and a spectral filter as needed. The base design will be comprised of three channels, two in the shortwave infrared and one in the visible, which will enable the creation of cloud masks including the detection and mapping of cirrus clouds. We will target a design for a 6U or 12U CubeSat. We will include thermal infrared channels if the size, weight, and power parameters allow it. The spectral characteristics of all channels will be determined through a Phase I modeling effort. We will design the electronics required to process, store, and transfer the data. The inexpensive systems will allow a constellation to be deployed for less money than a single traditional weather satellite and allow for cloud processes to be monitored on the scale of minutes to hours.