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COSMIC

COSMIC
Names	FORMOSAT-3
Mission type	Meteorology, Ionosphere, Climatology, and Space weather research
COSPAR ID	2006-011A, 2006-011B, 2006-011C, 2006-011D, 2006-011E, 2006-011F,
SATCAT no.	29047, 29048, 29049, 29050, 29051, 29052
Website	www.nspo.narl.org.tw
Mission duration	Final: 14 years, 15 days
Spacecraft properties
Manufacturer	Orbital Sciences Corporation
Launch mass	6 × 155 lb (70 kg)
Start of mission
Launch date	15 April 2006, 01:40 (2006-04-15UTC01:40) UTC
Rocket	Minotaur I Flight 5
Launch site	Vandenberg SLC-8
Contractor	Orbital Sciences
End of mission
Disposal	decommissioned
Deactivated	1 May 2020 (2020-06)
Orbital parameters
Reference system	Geocentric
Eccentricity	0
Perigee altitude	500 km (310 mi)
Apogee altitude	500 km (310 mi)
Inclination	72°

Constellation Observing System for Meteorology, Ionosphere, and Climate (COSMIC) is a program designed to provide advances in meteorology, ionospheric research, climatology, and space weather by using GPS satellites in conjunction with low Earth orbiting (LEO) satellites. The term "COSMIC" may refer to either the organization itself or the constellation of 6 satellites (also known as COSMIC-1 and as FORMOSAT-3, 福爾摩沙衛星三號, in Taiwan). The constellation is a joint U.S.-Taiwanese project with major participants including the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR), the National Science Foundation, the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL), the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), SRI International on the U.S. side and the National Space Organization (NSPO) on the Taiwanese side.

The total cost of the spacecraft and launch was US$100 million, 80% of which was being provided by NSPO, and the remainder by various U.S. agencies.

After experiencing several delays, the launch of the COSMIC satellite constellation atop a Minotaur launch vehicle from Vandenberg AFB occurred at 01:40 GMT, on 15 April 2006, despite heavy fog. The satellites, which orbit at an altitude of 500 miles, required over a year to move into the correct positions to provide full global coverage.

A follow-up constellation, COSMIC-2, launched 25 June 2019 on a Falcon Heavy rocket.

Instruments

The COSMIC satellites are equipped with three primary forms of instrumentation for remote sensing, including:

• GPS Radio Occultation Experiment
• Tri-band beacon (TBB), in VHF, UHF and L-band
• Tiny Ionospheric Photometer (TIP)

Deployment

All 6 microsatellites were launched on a single launch vehicle and deployed into a single parking orbit after launch. The spacecraft were then deployed into separate orbital planes through the use of precession due to the oblateness of the Earth and raised to a final orbital altitude over the course of several months. Scientific data were collected during the deployment process, along with experimental validation and calibration.

Status

FM2's power system lost 50% of its output in February 2007, while FM3's solar panel also malfunctioned since August 2007. As a result, both satellites are operating in a degraded state, capable of returning data only during specific solar angles. FM6 went out of control in September 2007, but control was restored by 16 November of the same year. FM3 had severe power problems since 6 July 2010. It was declared not functional since then. FM4, FM5, and FM6 have had battery aging problem.

The data published by the COSMIC-1 constellation has been used in weather models to improve the quality of weather forecasts. On 1 May 2020, the satellite constellation was retired.

Orbital information

Parking orbit

• Altitude: 500 km
• Inclination: 72 degrees
• Eccentricity: 0

Final orbital configuration

• Altitude: 700 – 800 km
• Inclination: 72 degrees
• Eccentricity: 0
• Spacing between right ascension of ascending node: 24 degrees
• Spacing in mean anomaly between adjacent orbital planes: 45 degrees

See also

• CHAMP
• FORMOSAT-7/COSMIC-2, replacement mission launched in 2019
• Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE)
• MetOp, a European weather satellite that also carries a GPS radio occultation receiver
• National Space Organization
• The TaiWan Ionospheric Model
• 2006 in spaceflight

References

1. "COSMIC: About". UCAR COSMIC. Archived from the original on 16 July 2013. Retrieved 18 April 2006.
2. Ray, Justin (14 April 2006). "Launch Coverage for Minotaur Rocket' COSMIC Mission". Spaceflight Now. Archived from the original on 15 April 2006.
3. "New Satellite System Will Use GPS Signals To Track Hurricanes, Climate Change, and Space Weather" (Press release). UCAR. 12 April 2006. Archived from the original on 26 June 2006. Retrieved 15 April 2006.
4. COSMIC Current Status Archived 4 July 2008 at the Wayback Machine
5. COSMIC Homepage
6. C.-J. Fong, D. Whiteley, E. Yang, K. Cook, V. Chu, B. Schreiner, D. Ector, P. Wilczynski, T.-Y. Liu, & N. L. Yen, "Space & Ground Segment Performance of the FORMOSAT-3 / COSMIC Mission: Four Years in Orbit," Atmospheric Measurement Techniques Discussions, Volume 4, Issue 1, 2011, pp. 599-638 (abstract here: http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2011AMTD....4..599F )
7. Fong, Chen-Joe; Yang, Shan-Kuo; Chu, Chung-Huei; Huang, Cheng-Yung; Yeh, Jia-Jing; Lin, Chen-Tsung; Kuo, Tien-Chuan; Liu, Tie-Yue; Yen, Nick L.; Chen, Shao-Shing; Kuo, Ying-Hwa; Liou, Yuei-An; Chi, Sien (November 2008). "FORMOSAT-3/COSMIC Constellation Spacecraft System Performance: After One Year in Orbit". IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing. 46 (11): 3380–3394. Bibcode:2008ITGRS..46.3380F. doi:10.1109/TGRS.2008.2005203. S2CID 21159012.
8. Chung, Jake (1 May 2020). "Formosat-3 retired after 14 years". Taipei Times. Retrieved 1 May 2020.

External links

• Official site
• COSMIC Mission Profile by NASA's Solar System Exploration
• University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR)
• UCAR Office of Programs (UOP)
• National SPace Organization Archived 2008-11-21 at the Wayback Machine (NSPO) - COSMIC's Taiwanese counterpart.
• ScienceNOW: The Little Satellite Fleet That Could,

v t e Formosat satellites
	Formosat-1 Formosat-2 Formosat-3 Formosat-5 Formosat-7
Future spacecraft in italics.

• Spacecraft launched in 2006
• Spacecraft launched by Minotaur rockets
• Earth observation satellites of Taiwan
• Earth observation satellites of the United States