Dr. Robert P. McCoy
Team Leader, Space Science, Ocean Battlespace Sensing Department, Office of Naval Research

Abstract
Traditionally access to space has been slow and costly which means that it typically takes years to launch a satellite and costs typically approach $100M. The Office of Naval Research, in conjunction with other government agencies has started a series of new initiatives to build and launch microsatellites quickly and for a fraction of the usual cost. This program involves totally rethinking the problem of access to space and opens a wide range of possibilities for sensors and computers in space. For example, low-cost airborne instruments are being packaged in hermitically sealed containers and flown and lap-top computers are being used to control experiments, take and process data. This new approach should open a wide range of remote sensing and other space applications and make it widely affordable and accessible for universities. ONR in conjunction with several U.S. federal agencies and the National Space Program Office of Taiwan recently launched the Constellation Observing System for Meteorology, Ionosphere and Climate (COSMIC). COSMIC is a constellation of 6 microsatellites to measure ionospheric electron densities and tropospheric neutral densities using GPS occultation, UV photometry and radio tomography.