Abstract

RainCube (Radar In a CubeSat), developed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and launched in 2018, was a technology demonstration supported by NASA. RainCube's radar is the first spaceborne profiling radar fitting on a platform as small as a 6U (10x20x30 cm(3)) CubeSat. This article shows how,... Show moreRainCube (Radar In a CubeSat), developed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and launched in 2018, was a technology demonstration supported by NASA. RainCube's radar is the first spaceborne profiling radar fitting on a platform as small as a 6U (10x20x30 cm(3)) CubeSat. This article shows how, despite its smaller size compared to traditional spaceborne radars, RainCube was able to measure clouds and precipitation in the mid-latitude and intertropical regions. Moreover, since RainCube's measurements are oversampled in the along-track (AT) direction, the horizontal resolution can be enhanced by a robust Wiener deconvolution algorithm. After more than two and a half years of operation, the RainCube mission came to an end on 24 December 2020. The collected record of Ka-band radar profiles compares favorably to collocated measurements from other ground-based and spaceborne radars both radiometrically and geophysically. The examples of multiradar collocations also provide some insights into the potential of constellations of spaceborne radars to study clouds and storms. Show less