Technology

PlanetiQ was founded to build, launch, and operate a commercial constellation of the highest quality HD GPS-RO weather satellites, with a full constellation of 20 Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites.

Consistent with our mission to bring innovation to satellite weather observations, PlanetiQ’s satellites will carry the fourth-generation “Pyxis” radio occultation (RO) sensor. Pyxis builds on the heritage of the gold standard for RO sensors. The PlanetiQ team developed and built the previous three generations of RO sensors proven on orbit, including 20 flight units.

This state-of-the-art, next-generation RO sensor is smaller, lighter, and consumes less power than prior versions, but has nearly 3x the data collection capability since it receives signals from all four world-wide GNSS constellations (GPS, GLONASS, Galileo and Beidou). Pyxis is the only GPS-RO sensor in such a small package that is powerful enough to provide more than double the amount of data available from the next-best GPS-RO sensors currently on orbit, and to routinely probe down into the lowest layers of the atmosphere where severe weather occurs.

Related: GPS-RO 101

Products

PlanetiQ will provide a suite of global, real-time environmental data products used worldwide in operations and research. PlanetiQ is committed to providing a continued stream of GPS-RO data at unprecedented quality and quantity, meeting current and future demands of weather forecasting, space weather prediction, and climate monintoring.

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Weather

Vertical atmosphere profiles:

  • Refractivity
  • Pressure
  • Temperature
  • Density
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Space Weather

Ionosphere measurements:

  • Total Electron Content
  • Scintillations
  • Local Energetic Particles
  • F-Region
climate_data_products

Climate

Vertical atmosphere profiles of:

  • Refractivity
  • Pressure
  • Temperature
  • Density

Over time, the PlanetiQ system will be expanded to dramatically enhance the number, type and quality of measurements made.