COSMIC-2

{{short description|Joint U.S.-Taiwanese research satellite constellation}} {{Infobox spaceflight | name = COSMIC-2/FORMOSAT-7

| image = FORMOSAT-7.jpg | image_caption = model of COSMIC-2/FORMOSAT-7 | image_alt = | image_size = 270px

| mission_type = Meteorology, ionosphere, climatology, and space weather research | operator = Taiwan Space Agency (formerly National Space Organization)<br />NOAA | COSPAR_ID = {{Cospar|2019-036L}}, {{Cospar|2019-036N}}, {{Cospar|2019-036E}}, {{Cospar|2019-036M}}, {{Cospar|2019-036V}}, {{Cospar|2019-036Q}} | SATCAT = 44349, 44351, 44343, 44350, 44358, 44353 | website = [https://www.tasa.org.tw/zh-TW/missions/detail/FORMOSAT-7 www.tasa.org.tw] | mission_duration = Planned: 5 years<ref>{{ cite web | url = https://www.cna.com.tw/news/ait/201808030045.aspx | title = 取代福衛三號福衛七號將成新太空溫度計 | author = 朱則瑋 | date = 3 August 2018 | work = Central News Agency (Taiwan) | publisher = 中央社 | location = 台北市 }}</ref> <br /> Elapsed: {{time interval|25 June 2019 06:30|show=ymd|sep=,}}

| manufacturer = National Space Organization and SSTL<ref name = NSPO>{{Cite web | url = http://www.nspo.narl.org.tw/en2016/projects/FORMOSAT-7/satellite.html | title = FORMOSAT-7 satellite | publisher = National Space Organization | accessdate = 6 January 2019 | archive-date = 14 April 2019 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190414013415/http://www.nspo.narl.org.tw/en2016/projects/FORMOSAT-7/satellite.html | url-status = dead }}</ref> | launch_mass = 6 × {{convert|300|kg|abbr=on}}<ref name = NSPO/> | dry_mass =  | payload_mass =  | dimensions = Length: 1.25 m, width: 1 m, height: 1.25 m<ref name = NSPO/> | power =  | launch_date = {{start-date|25 June 2019, 06:30}} UTC<ref>{{ cite web | url = http://m.ltn.com.tw/news/life/paper/1259237 | title = 美方禮遇我首度以外交郵包寄運福七 | author = 簡惠茹 | date = 6 January 2019 | publisher = Liberty Times }}</ref> | launch_rocket = Falcon Heavy Flight 3<ref name = NSPO2>{{Cite web | url = http://www.nspo.narl.org.tw/en2016/projects/FORMOSAT-7/launch-system.html | title = FORMOSAT-7 launch-system | publisher = NSPO | accessdate = 6 January 2019 | archive-date = 14 April 2019 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190414013417/http://www.nspo.narl.org.tw/en2016/projects/FORMOSAT-7/launch-system.html | url-status = dead }}</ref><ref>{{ cite web | url = https://www.cna.com.tw/news/firstnews/201808030044.aspx | title = 台灣另一個驕傲福衛七號最快年底升空 | author = 朱則瑋 | date = 3 August 2018 | work = 中央通訊社 | publisher = 中央社 | location = 台北市 }}</ref> | launch_site = KSC LC-39A<ref name = NSPO2/>

| last_contact = | decay_date = | orbit_reference = Geocentric orbit | orbit_regime = | orbit_semimajor = | orbit_eccentricity = | orbit_periapsis = | orbit_apoapsis = | orbit_inclination = 24°(Set 1)<ref name = NSPO3>{{Cite web | url = http://www.nspo.narl.org.tw/en2016/projects/FORMOSAT-7/program-description.html | title = FORMOSAT-7 program-description | publisher = NSPO | accessdate = 6 January 2019 | archive-date = 7 December 2018 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20181207153347/http://www.nspo.narl.org.tw/en2016/projects/FORMOSAT-7/program-description.html | url-status = dead }}</ref><br />72°(Set 2, canceled)<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.nspo.narl.org.tw/tw2015/info/news.shtml?id=000607&hid=kfFBycImbg | title = 不執行福衛七號第二組6枚衛星星系說明 | agency = 國家太空中心 | date = 20 October 2017 | access-date = 14 April 2019 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190106204737/https://www.nspo.narl.org.tw/tw2015/info/news.shtml?id=000607&hid=kfFBycImbg | archive-date = 6 January 2019 | url-status = dead }}</ref> | orbit_period = 97 min<ref name = NSPO3/> | orbit_RAAN = | orbit_arg_periapsis = | orbit_mean_anomaly = | orbit_mean_motion = | orbit_epoch = | orbit_rev_number = | apsis = 地 | insignia = {{Infobox spaceflight/Instruments |acronym1 = TGRS |name1 = Tri-GNSS Radio occultation System |acronym2 = IVM |name2 = Ion Velocity Meter |acronym3 = RFB |name3 = Radio Frequency Beacon }} | programme = '''National Space Organization''' | previous_mission = Formosat-5 | next_mission = }} '''COSMIC-2''' also known as '''FORMOSAT-7''', is the constellation of satellites for meteorology, ionosphere, climatology, and space weather research. FORMOSAT-7 is a joint US-Taiwanese project including National Space Organization (NSPO) on the Taiwanese side and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the United States Air Force (USAF) on the US side. FORMOSAT-7 is the successor of FORMOSAT-3<ref name = NSPO3/> The six satellites of the constellation were launched 25 June 2019 on a Falcon Heavy rocket. They reached their designated mission orbits in February 2021, after eighteen months of gradual orbital adjustments.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2021/02/09/2003752028 |title=All Formosat-7 satellites attain mission orbits |work=Taipei Times |date=9 February 2021 |accessdate=9 February 2021}}</ref> Full operational capability was achieved in October 2021.<ref name="nesdis-20211012" /> ==Pre-launch== On the morning of 14 April 2019, President Tsai Ing-wen traveled to Hsinchu City to take part in send-off activities for the Formosat-7 satellite. She commended the hard work and accomplishments of the research and development team, and hailed Formosat-7 as a milestone in promoting Taiwan's technological diplomacy, noting that she expected the satellite would display "the brilliance of Taiwan's aerospace technology on the international stage".<ref>{{cite web |date=2019-04-14 |accessdate=17 September 2020 |url=https://english.president.gov.tw/NEWS/5719 |title=President Tsai attends Formosat-7 send-off ceremony |work=Office of the President of the Republic of China (Taiwan)}}</ref>

On 15 April, the satellites were placed aboard a Taiwanese China Airlines cargo plane at Taoyuan International Airport. The six satellites were packed in three climate controlled transport crates. The satellites were shipped as diplomatic pouch to speed their journey through US customs, the first time a satellite had been shipped as such.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Everington |first1=Keoni |title=Taiwan's FormoSat-7 group shipped to Florida for launch |url=https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/3680497 |website=taiwannews.com |date=15 April 2019 |publisher=Taiwan News |accessdate=5 July 2019}}</ref>

==Design==

78% of components for the satellite program were made in Taiwan.<ref name="Taiwan News Nov 2019">{{cite web |last1=Strong |first1=Matthew |title=France's Arianespace wins bid to launch Taiwan satellite in 2021 |url=https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/3817999 |website=www.taiwannews.com.tw |date=15 November 2019 |publisher=Taiwan News |accessdate=15 November 2019}}</ref> The satellites receive signals from both GPS and GLONASS. The constellation collects more than 4,000 pieces of data a day.<ref name="Focus 2021" />

===Radio-Occultation Payload=== The primary payload for the COSMIC-2 satellites is the Radio Occultation instrument.

This instrument is capable of measuring atmospheric effects by analyzing the propagation of GNSS signals through said atmosphere.<ref name="radio2022">{{cite journal |last1=Ding |first1=Tong |last2=Awange |first2=Joseph L. |last3=Scherllin‐Pirscher |first3=Barbara |last4=Kuhn |first4=Michael |last5=Anyah |first5=Richard |last6=Zerihun |first6=Ayalsew |last7=Bui |first7=Luyen K. |title=GNSS Radio Occultation Infilling of the African Radiosonde Data Gaps Reveals Drivers of Tropopause Climate Variability |journal=Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres |date=16 September 2022 |volume=127 |issue=17 |doi=10.1029/2022JD036648 |bibcode=2022JGRD..12736648D |s2cid=251652497 |url=https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1029/2022JD036648|hdl=20.500.11937/91903 |hdl-access=free }}</ref>

The instrument is composed of the Tri-band GNSS (TriG) RO and POD Receiver<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.moog.com/content/dam/moog/literature/sdg/space/avionics/Moog-TriGROTriGPOD-Datasheet.pdf |title=Avionics: TriG RO and TriG POD |website=www.moog.com |language=en |access-date=17 January 2023}}</ref> and four Antennas:

* Two Radio Occultation Arrays (the Cafeteria Cups Antenna) one Forward, one Aft * Two Precise Orbit Determination Antennas, one Forward, one Aft

=== Cafeteria Cups Antenna=== thumb|left|The COSMIC-2 RO antenna prototype "Cafeteria Cups", fabricated out of 3D-printed FDM Ultem 9085, and inventor Dmitry Turbiner. Each RO Antenna is composed of three vertical sub-arrays, four elements each.<ref>{{Cite patent|title=Phased antenna array for global navigation satellite system signals|country=US|number=9190724|pubdate=2015-11-17|assign=California Institute of Technology|inventor1-last=Turbiner|inventor1-first=Dmitry}}</ref>

Each element is a two-turn helical spiral. The collected signals from the four vertical elements are combined with a low loss beamformer.

The name 'Cafeteria Cups' comes from the fact that the antenna elements in the very first prototype were made out of plastic cups from the JPL cafeteria.

The Antenna is fabricated out of 3D Printed FDM Ultem 9085.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.stratasysdirect.com/resources/case-studies/3d-printed-satellite-exterior-nasa-jet-propulsion-laboratory|title=3D Printed Satellite Exterior {{!}} NASA Case Study {{!}} Stratasys Direct|website=Stratasys|access-date=28 October 2019}}</ref> This makes the COSMIC-2 RO antenna the first 3D printed part on the outside of a spacecraft to be qualified to NASA Class 2B spaceflight.

==Launch== thumb|COSMIC-2 Launch COSMIC-2 launched on SpaceX's Falcon Heavy from Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39A on 25 June 2019.

==Post-launch== The first data from COSMIC-2 was made public in March 2020 with the new data improving the accuracy of weather forecasts by 10-11%. All six satellites reached their mission orbits by February 2021.<ref name="Focus 2021" >{{cite web |last1=Szu-yun |first1=Su |last2=Liu |first2=Kay |title=All Taiwan's FormoSat-7 space project satellites reach mission orbit |url=https://focustaiwan.tw/sci-tech/202102080007 |website=focustaiwan.tw |publisher=Focus Taiwan |access-date=23 February 2021}}</ref> The mission achieved full operational capability in October 2021.<ref name="nesdis-20211012">{{cite web |url=https://www.nesdis.noaa.gov/news/cosmic-2-achieves-full-operational-capability |title=COSMIC-2 Achieves Full Operational Capability |work=NESDIS |publisher=NOAA |date=12 October 2021 |access-date=18 October 2021}}</ref>

==See also== {{Portal |Spaceflight}} * National Space Organization * 2019 in spaceflight * FORMOSAT-3/COSMIC * Formosat-8 * PARUS (Taiwanese satellite family)

==References== {{reflist}}

==External links== *[https://www.nspo.narl.org.tw/en2016/projects/FORMOSAT-7/program-description.html FORMOSAT-7] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200217180744/http://www.nspo.narl.org.tw/en2016/projects/FORMOSAT-7/program-description.html |date=2020-02-17 }} at National Space Organization

Category:Earth observation satellites of Taiwan Category:Spacecraft launched in 2019 Category:SpaceX commercial payloads Category:Taiwan–United States relations