1st radar for U.S. Air Force satellite constellation delivered by Tomorrow.io
NewsSeptember 12, 2022
BOSTON, Massachusetts. The Tomorrow Companies (Tomorrow.io) has delivered the first radar payload to Astro Digital for satellite integration as part of a $19.3 million contract awarded last year by the U.S. Air Force through its Commercial Weather Data Pilot Program, the company announced in a statement.
The company completed assembly and testing of its first precipitation radar, which will support deployment of Astro Digital's first four Corvus-XL satellites, the statement reads.
The first planned launch of a satellite is in early 2023, with the expectation to put the full constellation in orbit by 2025, the statement adds.
The company states that precipitation measurements are used in weather forecasting and claims the radar can provide more detailed observations than other sensors.
“Global environmental data is essential to effective mission planning and execution of air and ground operations,” said John Dreher, materiel leader, Weather Systems Branch, in an Air Force statement. He added that the aim of the radar is to "give Air Force weather operators a vastly improved awareness of current and forecasted weather conditions.”
