For the last half century, NASA and NOAA have been watching the weather from above. But can they predict weather in the chaotic age of climate change?

Weather Satellites

<h2>China&#8217;s Own Compass</h2>
GPS has been an integral part of modern living, integrated in our cars, our smartphones, even our homes. <a href="https://futurism.com/gps-tracking-centimeter/">And its steadily getting better</a>, more accurate, and more widely available. And the Chinese government is now working on its own version of GPS.
And they&#8217;re getting there.
<a href="http://www.wired.com/2016/06/rocket-launch-brings-china-one-step-closer-gps/">China has just launched the 23rd satellite</a> in its <a href="http://en.beidou.gov.cn/index.html">BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS)</a>, the Chinese answer to the GPS. A Long March-3C rocket, carrying the BeiDou-2 Compass G7 spacecraft, blasted off from Launch Area 3 at the Xichang Satellite Launch Center last June 12.
<figure style="width: 599px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img src="https://wp-assets.futurism.com/2016/06/135430929_14657749391641n.jpg" alt="undefined" width="599" height="380" /><figcaption class="wp-caption-text">The Long March rocket that carried the satellite. Credit: Xinhua</figcaption></figure>
BeiDou-2 Compass G7 belongs to the second generation of the BDS, also known as the Compass Navigation Satellite System, is designed to provide continuous, real-time passive 3-D geo-spatial positioning and speed measurement.
The satellite is fitted with a laser retroreflector for precise orbit determination, a phased array antenna for the transmission of navigation signals, a C-Band ranging antenna, and also an S/L-band dish antenna. The spacecraft is expected to offer its services for about eight years.
<h2>Long in the Making</h2>
Chinese satellite navigation ambitions are not new. Their BDS system started since the year 2000, as the BeiDou-1, more of a experimental regional navigation system composed of four satellites.
Now, the next phase, BeiDou-2, will be a constellation of 35 satellites, which include 5 geostationary orbit satellites for backward compatibility with BeiDou-1, and 30 non-geostationary satellites that will offer complete coverage of the globe.
The BDS is designed to achieve similar performances. The network will have a dual use: a free service for civilians, and a licensed service for the Chinese government and military. The civilian service will provide an accuracy of about 10 meters (33 feet). The restricted military and authorized users’ service will provide higher tracking accuracies of 0.1 meters (0.33 feet).

Off World

China has just launched the latest piece in its own satellite navigation constellation, getting closer to having a complete global satellite network.

China Just Moved One Step Closer To Completing A Global Satellite Network

While asteroid mining company Planetary Resources has <a href="https://futurism.com/planetary-resources-gets-new-12m-investment-to-mine-asteroids/">set its sights firmly on asteroids</a>, and their technologies on devices that exploit them, investors are backing a project that will keep the company a little closer to home.
<a href="http://www.planetaryresources.com/2016/05/planetary-resources-raises-21-1-million-in-series-a-funding-unveils-advanced-earth-observation-capability/">The company announced May 26</a> that it has secured US$21.1 million in Series A funding, money which will be used to deploy and operate Ceres (no, not <a href="https://futurism.com/19610/">the dwarf planet</a>). Ceres is an advanced Earth observation project that will use Planetary Resources&#8217; Arkyd 100 satellites to observe places of interest on Earth.
The same sensors that were originally designed to prospect asteroids will now be used to deliver affordable, on-demand Earth intelligence of our natural resources on any spot on the planet. The sensors will offer two distinct views of our planet, mid-wave infrared and hyperspectral imaging.
By 2019, the company plans to have a constellation of 10 Arkyd 100 microsatellites in low Earth orbit, equipped with those mid-wave infrared and hyperspectral sensors that can track water content, crop growth, oil and gas leaks, and even forest fires. They will observe &#8220;an unprecedented 40 color bands&#8221; in the visible to near-infrared spectrum.
<a href="http://www.geekwire.com/2016/planetary-resources-asteroid-mining-earth-observation-21-million-funding/">But to fans of asteroid mining, don&#8217;t be alarmed</a>. The constellation of satellites being put up will still be (eventually) used to spot resources in near-Earth asteroids.

Planetary Resources has just announced the next step in its quest to mine asteroid: Earth observation. Specifically, satellites capable of advanced imaging of Earth. And its just got the money to do that, after netting $21.1 million in Series A funding.

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/ Earth Energy

/ Climate Science

/ Geosynchronous Satellites

/ Nasa