Preliminary system design for the development of CubeSat with GNSS-reflectometry (GNSS-R) payload for monitoring sea level change
Global warming is causing a rapid rise in sea levels. This is particularly pressing as the impacts are causing flooding, salinisation, extreme weather and sea temperature, and threatening food security. The impacts are particularly severe for communities in the global south and developing countries...
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| Format: | Thesis (University of Nottingham only) |
| Language: | English |
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2025
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| Online Access: | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/80683/ |
| _version_ | 1848801264377266176 |
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| author | Haile, Helen |
| author_facet | Haile, Helen |
| author_sort | Haile, Helen |
| building | Nottingham Research Data Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | Global warming is causing a rapid rise in sea levels. This is particularly pressing as the impacts are causing flooding, salinisation, extreme weather and sea temperature, and threatening food security. The impacts are particularly severe for communities in the global south and developing countries due to significant social and economic injustice. With approximately 600 million people living in coastal regions globally, the potential submerges in this area could lead to further economic impact and increase the social and economic effects felt in the global south and coast area.
This project aims to assess the feasibility of cost-effective, compact, and capable CubeSats in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) that can measure levels daily. This approach will enhance our understanding and monitor sea level change. Over the past 30 years, satellite missions have contributed significantly to sea level rise altimetry, providing long-term observational records and offering a better understanding of sea level changes across oceans and seas. However, traditional Ocean altimetry relies on large, costly satellites designed primarily for open ocean research and struggles to capture altimetry in coastal regions with the necessary spatial and shorter temporal scales.
To address this gap in consistent, reliable altimetry in coastal areas, the CubeSats will utilise GNSS-Reflectometry (GNSS-R). GNSS-R is an innovative remote sensing technique with a higher temporal and spatial resolution than traditional radar altimetry.
The mission will deploy eight CubeSat 6u on a single orbital plane, with a spacing of 45° between them. All the satellites will be placed in Sun-Synchronous Orbit (SSO) at an altitude of 550km, providing 15 revisit times per day for one satellite revisit time.
The feasibility indicates that GNSS-R provides a promising alternative to traditional innovative remote sensing, offering reduced mass and power requirements. This will offer a cost-effective sea-level measurement approach |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T21:04:41Z |
| format | Thesis (University of Nottingham only) |
| id | nottingham-80683 |
| institution | University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus |
| institution_category | Local University |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T21:04:41Z |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | nottingham-806832025-07-28T04:40:07Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/80683/ Preliminary system design for the development of CubeSat with GNSS-reflectometry (GNSS-R) payload for monitoring sea level change Haile, Helen Global warming is causing a rapid rise in sea levels. This is particularly pressing as the impacts are causing flooding, salinisation, extreme weather and sea temperature, and threatening food security. The impacts are particularly severe for communities in the global south and developing countries due to significant social and economic injustice. With approximately 600 million people living in coastal regions globally, the potential submerges in this area could lead to further economic impact and increase the social and economic effects felt in the global south and coast area. This project aims to assess the feasibility of cost-effective, compact, and capable CubeSats in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) that can measure levels daily. This approach will enhance our understanding and monitor sea level change. Over the past 30 years, satellite missions have contributed significantly to sea level rise altimetry, providing long-term observational records and offering a better understanding of sea level changes across oceans and seas. However, traditional Ocean altimetry relies on large, costly satellites designed primarily for open ocean research and struggles to capture altimetry in coastal regions with the necessary spatial and shorter temporal scales. To address this gap in consistent, reliable altimetry in coastal areas, the CubeSats will utilise GNSS-Reflectometry (GNSS-R). GNSS-R is an innovative remote sensing technique with a higher temporal and spatial resolution than traditional radar altimetry. The mission will deploy eight CubeSat 6u on a single orbital plane, with a spacing of 45° between them. All the satellites will be placed in Sun-Synchronous Orbit (SSO) at an altitude of 550km, providing 15 revisit times per day for one satellite revisit time. The feasibility indicates that GNSS-R provides a promising alternative to traditional innovative remote sensing, offering reduced mass and power requirements. This will offer a cost-effective sea-level measurement approach 2025-07-28 Thesis (University of Nottingham only) NonPeerReviewed application/pdf en arr https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/80683/1/Preliminary%20System%20Design%20for%20the%20Development%20of%20%20CubeSat%20with%20GNSS-Reflectometry%20%28GNSS-R%29%20Payload%20for%20Monitoring%20Sea%20Level%20Change.pdf Haile, Helen (2025) Preliminary system design for the development of CubeSat with GNSS-reflectometry (GNSS-R) payload for monitoring sea level change. MRes thesis, University of Nottingham. cubesat |
| spellingShingle | cubesat Haile, Helen Preliminary system design for the development of CubeSat with GNSS-reflectometry (GNSS-R) payload for monitoring sea level change |
| title | Preliminary system design for the development of CubeSat with GNSS-reflectometry (GNSS-R) payload for monitoring sea level change |
| title_full | Preliminary system design for the development of CubeSat with GNSS-reflectometry (GNSS-R) payload for monitoring sea level change |
| title_fullStr | Preliminary system design for the development of CubeSat with GNSS-reflectometry (GNSS-R) payload for monitoring sea level change |
| title_full_unstemmed | Preliminary system design for the development of CubeSat with GNSS-reflectometry (GNSS-R) payload for monitoring sea level change |
| title_short | Preliminary system design for the development of CubeSat with GNSS-reflectometry (GNSS-R) payload for monitoring sea level change |
| title_sort | preliminary system design for the development of cubesat with gnss-reflectometry (gnss-r) payload for monitoring sea level change |
| topic | cubesat |
| url | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/80683/ |