GPS World

Tag: forecast

  • NASA releases GNSS radio occultation data in common CF compliant format

    NASA releases GNSS radio occultation data in common CF compliant format

    The NASA Goddard Earth Sciences Data and Information Services Center (GES DISC) and principal investigator Stephen Leroy of JANUS Research Group have released GNSS Radio Occultation (GNSS-RO) datasets.

    The data release includes 72 different products from 15 different GNSS-RO receivers (or constellations of receivers) processed at four different GNSS-RO retrieval/processing centers. The data from different processing centers have been reformatted to have a common Climate and Forecast Metadata Conventions (CF) compliant format.

    The algorithm was developed with funding from the NASA ACCESS 2019 program and the NASA Supplements for Open Science Support. These are the version 2.0 GNSS-RO products; version 1.1 is available through the AWS Registry of Open Data. 

    GNSS-RO data undergoes processing that is radically different from that of most atmospheric sounders, but it can still be categorized by its processing step: 

    • uncalibrated data, as provided by the satellite instrument with communication information stripped, are Level 1a (not part of this release); 
    • calibrated data, wherein the clock biases of the transmitters and receivers are removed and precise orbits determined are Level 1b; 
    • extremely high vertical-resolution profiles of RO bending angle and microwave refractivity are Level 2a; and 
    • profiles of temperature, pressure, and specific humidity on a coarser vertical grid are Level 2b.

    Products are still being added to the archive. This initial release is complete for all processing levels of the COSMIC-1 data sets from four different processing centers. After all of the products in the initial release are complete for available data through July 2025, the project will bebegin forward processing for missions still actively producing data.

    For more information about these products please see the README document and the Algorithm Theoretical Basis Document (ATBD).

  • FAA forecasts sustained growth for UAS

    The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has released its annual Aerospace Forecast Report Fiscal Years 2016 to 2036, which finds a sustained increase in the use of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) as well as overall air travel.

    A key portion of the forecast focuses on projections for the growth in the use of unmanned aircraft, also known as drones. The FAA estimates small, hobbyist UAS purchases may grow from 1.9 million in 2016 to as many as 4.3 million by 2020.

    Sales of UAS for commercial purposes are expected to grow from 600,000 in 2016 to 2.7 million by 2020. Combined total hobbyist and commercial UAS sales are expected to rise from 2.5 million in 2016 to 7 million in 2020.

    Predictions for small UAS used in the commercial fleet are more difficult to develop given the dynamic, quickly evolving nature of the market. Both sales and fleet-size estimates share certain broad assumptions about operating limitations for small UAS during the next five years: daytime operations, within visual line of sight, and a single pilot operating only one small UAS at a time. The main difference in the high and low end of the forecasts is differing views on how those limitations will influence the widespread use of UAS for commercial purposes.

    Looking at commercial air travel, Revenue Passenger Miles (RPMs) are considered the benchmark for measuring aviation growth. An RPM is one revenue passenger traveling one mile. The FAA forecast calls for system RPMs by mainline and regional air carriers to grow at an average rate of 2.6 percent a year between 2016 and 2036, with international RPMs projected to increase 3.5 percent a year, doubling over the forecast period. Domestic RPMs are forecast to increase by more than 50 percent over the same time. In 2015, system RPMs by U.S. carriers grew from 857 billion to 889 billion, a 3.8 percent increase.

    The FAA’s NextGen program is helping to meet this consistent aviation growth. NextGen focuses on implementing technologies and procedures that utilize satellite-based aircraft navigation and phase out efficiency limitations of the current ground-based radar navigation system. For example, the environmental and economic gains of reduced fuel usage associated with NextGen advancements are projected to achieve a savings of billions of dollars in airline operational costs and achieve sustainable aviation growth.

    Proven economic data that utilize sources such as generally accepted projections for the nation’s GDP are used in the FAA annual forecast, which has consistently made it the industry-wide standard of U.S. aviation-related activities. The report looks at all facets of air travel including commercial airlines, air cargo, private general aviation, and fleet sizes.

    FAA Aviation Forecast Fact Sheet