Jet Propulsion Laboratory has booked a contract valued at $1.1 million from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to study radio frequency band corruption.
The National Environmental Satellite, Data and Information Service said Friday the contract that NOAA awarded on Sept. 10, aims to investigate the disruptions of RF bands used by Earth observation satellites.
JPL is responsible for detecting, identifying and characterizing harmful emissions interfering with a passive band. It is expected to provide possible measures to mitigate or reduce the impact of these issues.
The center will assess the risks, processes and modifications necessary to implement enhanced passive remote sensing globally. It will also develop methods and evaluate resources needed for the mitigation strategies.
Increasing RF emissions from congested band sources, including private satellites and advanced wireless services, can corrupt data from Earth’s satellites that are vital for weather forecasting.
The contract, a Joint Venture Partnerships broad agency announcement, is intended for research purposes. There are no current plans for an RFI detection or mitigation satellite mission.
The Office of Systems Architecture and Engineering’s Joint Venture Partnerships program, operated by NOAA’s National Environmental Satellite, Data and Information Service, is managing the contract.