WASHINGTON (States News Service) -- When the Navy needs to solve problems in space, the Office of Naval Research is there to make things happen.
The Office funds all types of research, from warfare to medical sciences. With the Navy's growing role in space, the Office is making two projects possible: the Naval EarthMap Observer (NEMO) and the WinSat satellites.
In 1997, the Office of Naval Research created the Naval Space Science and Technology Program Office. The goal of this new entity was to act as the coordinating point for the Navy's activities in space. Although some of these programs are run by the Navy, the office also works with privately contracted companies to develop space technology, like NEMO.
The Research Office works in different ways, said team leader Paul Regeon. Sometimes Naval researchers bring project ideas to the office and other times the office comes up with project ideas on its own.
The Navy's presence in space has expanded so much that Dr. Robert McCoy of the Office of Naval Research and others said that the Navy is the biggest user of space in the military.
"The Navy is always deployed and is the most critically dependent" of the military branches on space communication, Regeon said.
McCoy and Regeon cite two big space projects that came out of the Space Science office.
The first project, the Naval EarthMap Observer, is the first commercial hyperspectral remote sensing satellite, capable of mapping the earth more clearly, especially the shallower areas along the coasts. Although built by an industry team, the satellite will be used by the Navy when it launches sometime next year.
Precise mapping of the coasts will help the Navy fleet in navigation and shore support operations.
Second, a satellite called WinSat will give the Navy better knowledge of the ocean windspeed and wind direction. It's scheduled to launch in 2002.
"The Navy had a long standing problem trying to gauge windspeed over the ocean," Regeon said.
McCoy said there can be "$10 to $20 million a year savings just knowing the weather for routing" ships with the wind. WinSat will help with that.
advertisement
