ABSTRACT:

Traditional satellite meteorology has relied on flagship satellites such as the NOAA’s Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS) and EUMETSAT’s MetOp to acquire high resolution multispectral imager, infrared sounding, and microwave sounding. The introduction of low-cost launch, commodity small satellite platforms, and most recently Optical Intersatellite Links, now enable weather observations form a hybrid space architecture of government and commercially owned satellites. This seminar will review the MetNet small satellite constellation architecture, satellite design, and business model for providing commercial weather data as a service. Intermingled in the discussion will be our story on being a start-up, surviving government budget cuts, pivoting to the weather business, and being successful in winning NOAA contracts.

BIOGRAPHY:

John Fisher is President and Founder of Brandywine Photonics in West Chester, PA. John graduated from Penn State with a BS in Electrical Engineering in 1986, and MS in Electrical Engineering in 1987. After graduation, John worked at IBM and the US Naval Research Laboratory, focusing on optical system engineering and system design. In 1999, he founded Brandywine Optics (now Brandywine Photonics) with the renewed purpose “to measure all things weather, everywhere, all the time, for our families and generations to come.” He lives in West Chester Borough with his wife and three children and enjoys hiking, art history, and studying books on entrepreneurship.