Weather
This satellite constellation transformed earth science by creatively tuning in to GPS signals
Key Points
When NASA's Cyclone Global Navigation Satellite System, or CYGNSS, launched into orbit in 2016, none of the University of Michigan Engineering researchers who developed the system expected it to transform earth science. They certainly had high hopes for the system's original mission to improve hurricane forecasting, but its ability to pick up reflected GPS signals also proved useful for much more.
When NASA's Cyclone Global Navigation Satellite System, or CYGNSS, launched into orbit in 2016, none of the University of Michigan Engineering researchers who developed the system expected it to transform earth science. They certainly had high hopes for the system's original mission to improve hurricane forecasting, but its ability to pick up reflected GPS signals also proved useful for much more.