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Have You Ever Seen (Through) The Rain?

Rendering of the CYGNSS satellite in orbit. Photo: NASA/JPL
Rendering of the CYGNSS satellite in orbit. Photo: NASA/JPL

A fleet of 8 toaster-oven sized satellites are heading to orbit with the task of seeing through rain. NASA’s Cyclone Global Navigation Satellite System will measure wind speeds in the tropics to better understand cyclones and hurricanes. And it does this in a pretty interesting way: using left-over GPS signals beamed down to earth.

Derek Posselt is a scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab in California and he joins the program to talk about the mission and the technology that helps this fleet work.

Brendan covers space news for WMFE, everything from rocket launches to the latest scientific discoveries in our universe. He hosts WMFE's weekly radio show and podcast "Are We There Yet?" which explores human space exploration.