PROJECT TITLE :

Overview of the End-of-Mission Observation Experiments of Precipitation Radar Onboard the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission Satellite

ABSTRACT:

Special experiments using the Precipitation Radar (PR) onboard the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission satellite throughout descent when the orbital maintenance fuel was depleted are reported during this paper. In these special observation experiments, a ninety° yaw maneuver experiment, a good swath width experiment, and the dense sampling experiments were allotted. The key operation of these experiments was a giant amendment in the phase shifter settings of the transmitter and receiver, which was not tested before or after the launch. Furthermore, the 90° yaw experiment needed the special operation of the satellite, whereas the other two experiments were implemented by changing only the PR operation. Throughout the experiments, the PR was operated, and also the expected knowledge were obtained. The preliminary results counsel the chance of future radar observation from space, and also the results of these experiments will be used as basic information to enhance the algorithm of the dual-frequency PR onboard the worldwide Precipitation Measurement mission core satellite and the planning of future spaceborne PRs.