Airborne Demonstration of an ultra-compact Millimeter-Wave Radar for Atmospheric Measurements

We present the first-light airborne measurements ofa new W-band atmospheric radar, part of the CloudCubeinstrument. CloudCube is a multifrequency, ultra-compact, lowcost, modular radar system for vertical profiling of clouds,convection, and precipitation structures and dynamics from space.The instrument employs a novel radar architecture that directlyupconverts the baseband signal to the RF band, eliminating theneed for intermediate frequencies or further multiplicationschemes. This architecture, combined with pulse compressiontechniques, offers a straightforward and effective solution whileachieving the necessary performance and robustness for airborneor spaceborne radar instruments. The W-band channel wasinstalled and operated aboard NASA's DC-8 AirborneLaboratory, completing two test flights over the coast of Californiaand operated as a technology demonstration during science flightsas part of the CPEX field deployment. A detailed pulsecompression validation and comparison of reflectivity profilesacross multiple frequency bands demonstrate the instrument'sperformance for atmospheric profiling.