The United States Air Force has selected Baron Weather, the worldwide leader in critical weather intelligence, to provide a cutting-edge weather radar system and data display technology vital to space launch safety for operations and personnel. Baron will install a 250-kilowatt Klystron C-band dual-polarization radar at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. The station is just south of Cape Canaveral, the most prominent location for space launch activities in the U.S.
Organizations including Space X, ULA, NASA, USAF, and the US Navy will benefit from the high-resolution data the weather radar will deliver. Using Baron Lynx, a robust system that meets and exceeds the military’s data visualization requirements, the organizations can view and analyze the data to determine if weather conditions are safe for launch activities and other operations.
“The weather radar location allows for an acute understanding of weather and how it will impact launches,” commented Joel A. Ward, President of The JAAW™ Group, a Baron partner, and the prime contractor for the project. “In addition, the weather data will be critical to support decisions regarding risk to personnel and critical infrastructure, allowing the staff to make appropriate weather-based decisions to proceed or postpone a launch confidently.”
The Baron radar will feature CLEAN-AP™ clutter suppression technology, available exclusively through a partnership with the University of Oklahoma, that ensures the most precise display of weather targets. The radar also includes Baron’s patented Multi-radial Calibration. This groundbreaking technology calibrates the radar with every sweep, ensuring the data is always accurate. The advanced display and analysis features of the Baron Lynx workstations were instrumental in allowing Patrick's staff to make the best weather-based launch decisions.
To ensure seamless implementation of the radar and Baron Lynx systems, radar technicians and meteorologists from Baron, alongside The JAAW™ Group, will provide in-depth training.
Baron has supported military operations globally with radars and other weather technology, including installing radars at Fort Greely in Alaska and Redstone Arsenal in Alabama.
