SwRI is designing, building and operating the QuickSounder satellite, a collaborative mission between NASA and NOAA and the first in a new generation of low-Earth orbit environmental satellites. NOAA’s low-Earth orbit satellites collect weather data and provide information for the 3-to-7-day forecasts we use to plan our days and stay safe in severe weather. QuickSounder will also provide weather data, but what makes this prototype unique is the fast production timeline and the low construction cost. It is being developed in one-fifth of the time and at one-tenth of the cost of previous weather satellite technology.

Listen now as QuickSounder Program Manager Keith Smith and Lead Systems Engineer Steve Thompson explain what the advanced production timeline means for weather forecasting and the challenges of designing and building the weather satellite in record time.