Hurricane Hunter Satellites - Tropical Weather Analytics, Inc

10/07/2026

Without a doubt, the best observed tropical cyclone during CASIS-sponsored CyMISS program (tropical Cyclone intensity Measurements from the ISS program, which ran from 2014 to 2019) was Hurricane Matthew. Between October 1 and October 13, 2016, the crew of ISS Expedition 49 secured a total of eight images sequences in support of CyMISS from as many overpasses on seven different days as this powerful hurricane worked its way across the Caribbean Sea and up the US Atlantic coast. Shared in the linked article are mosaics of this long-lived storm created from those images including a 3D view generated from images acquired on October 7 when the then Category 2 hurricane was skirting the Atlantic coast of Florida. Images like these will one day be used to provide a more accurate assessment of the strength of these powerful storms as well as help improve predictions of their path and development and were a vital precursor for TWA’s Hurricane Hunter Satellite project currently under development for launch in 2028.

During the last four years of the CyMISS (Tropical Cyclone Intensity Measurements from the ISS) program, our team has acquired image sequences of several dozen powerful hurricanes, typhoons and tro…

09/21/2026

Back when I was growing up in the 1970s, I was disappointed by the lack of any astronaut photography of my home in New England. Naturally, this was because of the low inclination of the Gemini and early Earth-orbiting Apollo test flights which prevented photography at such high latitudes. But all that changed with the launch of Skylab into an orbit inclined 50° to the equator. The first series of near-clear sky, open-source photographs of the Boston area taken from orbit were secured 52 years ago today on September 21, 1973 using the cameras of the S190A Skylab Multispectral Experiment… although it would be 45 years before I would stumble upon them when performing a work-related search through a NASA Earth image archive. Because of the way these images were acquired, I was able to use them to create the earliest known 3D view of Boston from orbit as detailed in the linked article.

The first clear views of the Boston area from the S190A Skylab Multispectral Experiment were acquired on September 21, 1973

09/15/2026

This article details a sunrise view of Hurricane Florence taken at 7:41 AM EDT on September 14, 2018 by the crew of the ISS in support of the CASIS-sponsored CyMISS (tropical Cyclone intensity Measurements from the ISS) program which ran from 2014 to 2019. At this time, the center of Hurricane Florence was was just making landfall over North Carolina. Despite the fact Florence had been weakening over the previous two days as it approached the US, it was still rated as a Category 1 storm with sustained winds of about 145 kph (90 mph). CyMISS was a vital precursor for TWA’s Hurricane Hunter Satellite project currently under development for launch in 2028.

This season continues to be a busy one for hurricanes and typhoons in the northern hemisphere. And with all this activity, there have been lots of opportunities to observe these powerful storms fro…

09/13/2026

The linked article presents details of a 3D view of the Category 5 Super Typhoon Meranti as its eye passed north of the Philippines on September 13, 2016. It was created using images acquired by the crew of ISS Expedition 49 in support of the CASIS-sponsored CyMISS (tropical Cyclone intensity Measurements from the ISS) program which ran from 2014 to 2019. CyMISS was a vital precursor for TWA’s Hurricane Hunter Satellite project currently under development for launch in 2028.

Typhoon Meranti was rated as a Category 5 storm on the Saffir-Simpson scale with sustained winds of about 299 kph (186 mph) earning it “super typhoon” status

09/07/2026

The linked article presents details of 3D views from nine years ago of Hurricane Irma – tied at the time as the 7th most powerful Atlantic hurricane to make landfall. These views were created using images acquired by the crew of ISS Expedition 53 on September 5, 7, and 10, 2017 in support of the CASIS-sponsored CyMISS (tropical Cyclone intensity Measurements from the ISS) program which ran from 2014 to 2019. CyMISS was a vital precursor for TWA’s Hurricane Hunter Satellite project currently under development for launch in 2028.

Hurricane Irma reached its peak intensity at about 06:00 GMT on September 6 with a central pressure low of 914 hPa tying for 7th place as the most intense Atlantic hurricane to make landfall

08/25/2026

Hurricane Harvey hit Texas nine years ago today causing widespread, catastrophic flooding. The linked article presents details of 3D views of Harvey acquired from the ISS on August 25, 2017 just 5½ hours before it made landfall. These views of Hurricane Harvey were created using images acquired by the crew of ISS Expedition 52 in support of the CASIS-sponsored CyMISS (tropical Cyclone intensity Measurements from the ISS) program which ran from 2014 to 2019 as part of NASA’s CEO (Crew Earth Observations) activities. CyMISS was a vital precursor for TWA’s Hurricane Hunter Satellite project currently under development for launch in 2028.

Hurricane Harvey was located in the Gulf of Mexico and was rated as a strong Category 3 storm with sustained winds of about 201 kph (125 mph)

08/21/2026

The linked article presents details of 3D views of the Category 4 Super Typhoon Atsani in the western Pacific Ocean on August 19, 2015. These views were created using images acquired by the crew of ISS Expedition 44 in support of the CASIS-sponsored CyMISS (tropical Cyclone intensity Measurements from the ISS) program which ran from 2014 to 2019 as part of NASA’s CEO (Crew Earth Observations) activities. CyMISS was a vital precursor for TWA’s Hurricane Hunter Satellite project currently under development for launch in 2028.

Atsani was located in the western part of the North Pacific and had just been upgraded a Category 4 “Super Typhoon”

08/21/2026

Typhoon Soulik (the sixth typhoon of the 2018 season) was an unusually large storm and the most powerful to hit the Korean Peninsula in six years. The linked article presents details of 3D views of Typhoon Soulik from the ISS on August 21, 2018 shortly after the storm had reached peak intensity in the East China Sea. These views of Soulik were created using images acquired by the crew of ISS Expedition 56 in support of the CASIS-sponsored CyMISS (tropical Cyclone intensity Measurements from the ISS) program which ran from 2014 to 2019 as part of NASA’s CEO (Crew Earth Observations) activities. CyMISS was a vital precursor for TWA’s Hurricane Hunter Satellite project currently under development for launch in 2028.

Typhoon Soulik was near its peak intensity and was rated as a strong Category 2 storm, on the Saffir-Simpson scale, with sustained winds of about 177 kph (110 mph)

08/13/2026

Wildfires are among the more common form of natural disaster which are only becoming more common, widespread, and destructive as a result of climate change. Orbital 3D imaging can be used as a new tool to detect and monitor wildfires, especially in remote regions, as well as the effects they can have on local and regional weather. The linked article presents details of an experiment to obtain 3D views of California from August 13, 2018 when several wildfires were burning including the Carr Fire in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest. They were created using images acquired by the crew of ISS Expedition 56 in support of the CASIS-sponsored CyMISS (tropical Cyclone intensity Measurements from the ISS) program which ran from 2014 to 2019 as part of NASA’s CEO (Crew Earth Observations) activities. CyMISS was a vital precursor for TWA’s Hurricane Hunter Satellite (HHSat) project currently under development for launch in 2028. These stereo observations from the ISS demonstrates that HHSat will provide vital data to monitor wildfires and their smoke plumes.

08/08/2026

The linked article presents details of 3D views of the Cat 3 Hurricane Hector in the Pacific Ocean, south of Hawaii on August 8, 2018. They were created using images acquired by the crew of ISS Expedition 56 in support of the CASIS-sponsored CyMISS (tropical Cyclone intensity Measurements from the ISS) program which ran from 2014 to 2019 as part of NASA’s CEO (Crew Earth Observations) activities. CyMISS was a vital precursor for TWA’s Hurricane Hunter Satellite project currently under development for launch in 2028.

The weakening hurricane was rated as a Category 3 storm with sustained winds of about 185 kph (115 mph)