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CYGNSS

completedLaunch 2016-078
Launched 12/15/2016LEOService CGSat LEO O
Admin Edit
Payloads
Assets deployed on this mission, enriched from spacecraft records.
8 payloads
CYGNSS FM01
active
Earth Observation
LEO
CYGNSS
CYGNSS FM02
active
Earth ObservationLEOCYGNSS
CYGNSS FM03
active
Earth ObservationLEOCYGNSS
CYGNSS FM04
active
Earth ObservationLEOCYGNSS
CYGNSS FM05
active
Earth ObservationLEOCYGNSS
CYGNSS FM06
retired
Earth ObservationLEOCYGNSS
CYGNSS FM07
active
Earth ObservationLEOCYGNSS
CYGNSS FM08
active
Earth ObservationLEOCYGNSS
Launch Details
Launch Date
12/15/2016
Launch ID
2016-078
Launch Profile
Sat LEO O
Service Type
CG
Customer Type
G
Orbit
LEO
Launch Stack
Operator
Northrop Grumman
Launch Vehicle
Pegasus XL
Launch Site
Skid Strip, Cape Canaveral Air Station (Cape Canaveral Air Station, Florida)US
Payload Summary
Payload Count
8
Constellations
1
Payload Status
active 7 / retired 1
Payload Mission Types
Earth Observation 8
Track
Mentions
9
All verified mentions of this mission in source documents.

Pegasus delivered the GALEX, NuSTAR, IRIS, CYGNSS, ICON, and IXPE missions.

RelationshipsCapabilityValue 4.0Jul 13, 2026Air Launch Died the Same Week Responsive Space Arrived

The potential of GNSS reflectometry for land sensing was demonstrated by the TechDemoSAT-1 and CYGNSS missions.

CapabilityGeneralValue 3.0Sep 29, 2025HydroGNSS: ESA’s first Scout smallsat begins launch preparations

CYGNSS was developed with support from NASA’s ESTO and has provided critical hurricane-forecasting data since 2016.

GeneralRelationshipsValue 3.7Nov 13, 2024NASA-developed technology supports ocean wind speed measurements from commercial satellite

NASA’s Cyclone Global Navigation Satellite System (CYGNSS) is a set of eight smallsats launched in 2016 that demonstrated the use of reflected GNSS signals for studying tropical weather systems.

CapabilityGeneralValue 4.0Jul 29, 2021GeoOptics to launch next-generation Earth science constellation

CYGNSS was recently approved for an additional three years of operation.

LegalValue 3.0Feb 11, 2021Direct From SmallSat Symposium: Florence Tan, NASA’s Chief Technologist Small Spacecraft Coordination Group — A Market Brief, NASA’s Synopsis of SmallSat Science Missions

CYGNSS provides daily soil moisture data products used for hydrological studies and disaster monitoring.

CapabilityValue 2.0Feb 11, 2021Direct From SmallSat Symposium: Florence Tan, NASA’s Chief Technologist Small Spacecraft Coordination Group — A Market Brief, NASA’s Synopsis of SmallSat Science Missions

CYGNSS measures the strength of GPS signals reflected by the Earth's surface and has been operational since December 2016.

CapabilityGeneralValue 4.0Feb 11, 2021Direct From SmallSat Symposium: Florence Tan, NASA’s Chief Technologist Small Spacecraft Coordination Group — A Market Brief, NASA’s Synopsis of SmallSat Science Missions

NASA launched eight 30-kilogram Cyclone Global Navigation Satellite System (CYGNSS) satellites in 2016 that were built by the Southwest Research Institute and the University of Michigan.

RelationshipsCapabilityGeneralValue 4.2Jan 15, 2020Spire Global shares early data from GNSS Reflectometry satellites

SMAP’s radiometer provides 30-kilometer resolution and SMAP’s radar provides three-kilometer resolution, compared with roughly 500-meter resolution for CYGNSS.

CapabilityGeneralValue 4.0Jan 9, 2019Hurricane satellites reveal flooding