Episode 10: Unraveling a Hurricane

Technology Today

Southwest Research Institute

Technology

4.8 • 19 Ratings

🗓️ 19 August 2019

⏱️ 31 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Collecting data from a hurricane before it makes landfall is key to saving lives and property. While current hurricane models can predict the path, there are often gaps in accurately predicting a storm’s intensity, or strength. NASA’s Cyclone Global Navigation Satellite System (CYGNSS) is made up of eight microsatellites designed and built by Southwest Research Institute. The satellites use GPS signals to cut through the world’s strongest storms. Our guest in this episode is an SwRI engineer who is part of a team operating CYGNSS. Hurricane season and year round, they are taking on tropical weather, measuring winds and working to better understand and predict hurricane intensity. Listen now as we discuss a new era in hurricane hunting.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Unravelling a hurricane, a constellation of micro satellites, is sweeping Earth's hurricane zone,
0:07.5	penetrating thick clouds and heavy rains to gather crucial weather data.
0:12.8	Our guest today is part of a team that operates this cutting-edge constellation known as the Cyclone Global Navigation Satell satellite system. He tells us what it takes
0:23.0	to track trouble in the tropics. We're on Hurricane Watch on this episode of Technology Today.
0:32.0	We live with technology, science, engineering, and the results of innovative research every day. Now, let's
0:39.2	understand it better. You're listening to the Technology Today podcast presented by Southwest Research Institute.
0:46.2	Hello and welcome to technology today. I'm your host, Lisa Benia. We are in the midst of the
0:51.5	Atlantic hurricane season right now, the time of year when hurricanes tend to form in the Atlantic Ocean.
0:57.4	Hurricane season runs from June 1st to November 30th.
1:00.8	When a hurricane is churning, collecting data is crucial to understanding the storm's intensity and path to ultimately keep people safe.
1:10.2	The Cyclone Global Navigation Satellite System, or Cygnus, as it's called, represents
1:16.1	a new era in hurricane hunting.
1:18.8	The satellite system can measure a storm's rapidly changing intensity, and this system
1:24.1	was designed and built right here at Southwest Research Institute.
1:28.5	Our guest today is Cygnus Systems Engineer William Wells.
1:32.1	Thanks for joining us, Will.
1:33.1	Hi, Lisa, thanks.
1:34.0	Hi.
1:34.5	So let's start with a description of the Cyclone Global Navigation Satellite system,
1:39.4	Cygnus.
1:40.0	It's a constellation of microsatellites, but how many are there?
1:43.7	How big are they? Sure. Cygnus is eight microsatellites, but how many are there? How big are they?
	...

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