THE Federal laboratory consortium (FLC) awarded MIT Lincoln Laboratory, a FLC Excellence In Technology Transfer 2025 price. The price recognizes the exceptional efforts of the laboratory in the marketing of microwave sounders organized on small satellites called cubesats. The laboratory first developed NASA technology, demonstrating that such satellites could operate in tandem to collect more frequently than possible hurricane data and considerably improve the hurricanes forecasts. Technology is now authorized to the company Tomorrow.ioWho will launch a large constellation of satellites equipped with sounder to improve the prediction of hurricanes and extend world meteorological coverage.
“This FLC price recognizes a technology with a significant impact, which could improve time weather forecasts for aviation, logistics, agriculture and emergency management, and highlights the important role of the laboratory in the contribution of innovation funded by the federal government to the commercial sector,” said Asha Rajagopal, Linkoln Laboratory technology transfer officer.
A national network of more than 300 government laboratories, agencies and research centers, the FLC helps to facilitate the transfer of technologies from federal laboratories and on the market for the benefit of the American economy, the company and national security.
Lincoln Laboratory initially offered and demonstrated NASA technology Tropics (Observations resolved in time of the structure of precipitation and the intensity of the storm with a constellation of Smallsats) assignment. For the tropics, the laboratory first has its microwave bells on low-cost cubes and available commercially.
From all technologies used to detect hurricanes, microwave bells offer the greatest improvement to forecast models. Space, these instruments detect a range of microwave frequencies that penetrate into the clouds, allowing them to measure 3D temperature, humidity and precipitation in a storm. The advanced instruments are generally important (the size of a washing machine) and hosted aboard 2 billion polar satellites in orbit, which can collectively revisit a storm every six hours. If the Sounders could be miniaturized, the laboratory researchers imagined, then they could be put on small satellites and launched in large numbers, working together to review the storms more often.
The tropics are the size of a cup of coffee. The laboratory team has worked for several years to develop and demonstrate technology that led to a miniaturized instrument, while retaining performance at the same level as traditional SAILDRES for frequencies that provide observations of the most useful tropical cyclone. By 2023, NASA spear A constellation of four tropical satellites, which has since quickly collected the refreshing data of many tropical storms.
Now, tomorrow.io plans to increase this constellation of a global network of 18 satellites. The resulting broadband observations – in less than an hour – should improve weather forecasts, the monitoring of hurricanes and early alert systems.
“This partnership with Tomorrow.io is expanding the impact of the tropical mission. Tomorrow.io the increased size of the constellation, the software pipeline and the resilient business model allow it to support a certain number of commercial and governmental organizations. This transfer to industry has resulted in a national autonomous capacity, which managed the transfer of technology to tomorrow.
Technology transfer lasted 18 months. By virtue of a cooperative research and development agreement (CRADA), the laboratory team has adapted the useful charge of the tropics to a satellite design updated and delivered to tomorrow.io the first three units, two of which were launched in September 2024. The team also provided in -depth training in depth and seven industry partners who will build, test, launch and launch the complete commercial. The remaining satellites should be launched before the end of this year.
“With these microwave bells, we can establish a new standard in the collection and prediction of atmospheric data. This technology allows us to capture atmospheric data with exceptional precision, in particular on the oceans and distant areas where traditional observations are rare,” said Rei GOFFER, Co-founder of Tomorrow.io, in a press release announcing the September launches.
Tomorrow.IO will use probe data as a contribution in their weather forecasts, data assistance and decision -making tools available to their customers, which range from the main airlines to governments. Tomorrow.io, the non -profit partner, Tomorrownow, also plans to use data as an entry into its climate model to improve food security in Africa.
This technology is particularly relevant because the hurricanes and serious weather events continue to cause significant destruction. In 2024, the United States experienced a 27 disaster events That everyone exceeded $ 1 billion in damage, causing a total cost of around $ 182.7 billion, which caused at least 568 people. Globally, these storm systems cause thousands of deaths and billions of dollars in damage each year.
“It was great to see Lincoln Laboratory, Tomorrow.io, and teams of industry partners work together so efficiently to quickly incorporate tropical technology and bring the new Stern Microwave Stern online,” explains Bill Blackwell, principal investigator of the Tropics of NASA and Crada Mission with Tomorrow.IO. “I expect the improvement in the revision rate provided by the constellation of tomorrow.IO will lead to additional improvements in the forecast performance of hurricanes beyond what has already been demonstrated by the tropics.”
The team behind the transfer includes Tom Roy, Bill Blackwell, Steven Gillmer, Rebecca Keenan, Nick Zorn and Mike Diliberto from Lincoln Laboratory and Kai Lemay, Scott Williams, Emma Watson and Jan Wicha from Tomorrow.io. Lincoln Laboratory will be honored among other winners of the FLC 2025 prices at the FLC national meeting which will be held practically on May 13.