In the late hours of April 14, Tomorrow.io made history.
The weather intelligence and climate adaptation company launched its inaugural proprietary weather radar satellite, Tomorrow-R1, rocketing from Vanderberg Air Force Base, above the California coast and into Earth’s orbit. In doing so, it laid the foundation for groundbreaking advancement in global weather forecasting, underpinned by cutting-edge generative weather and climate AI.
Since then, Tomorrow.io has successfully launched a second weather radar satellite, Tomorrow-R2, growing the constellation. Tomorrow.io achieved the launch and functionality of the satellites just two years after it initially announced its space plans in February 2021. Prior to the launches of R1 and R2, the only precipitation radar-equipped satellite in orbit was NASA’s GPM Satellite.
“Until today, only a handful of atmospheric radars have been launched to space, all built by government agencies with hefty budgets and long development times,” said Shimon Elkabetz, CEO and co-founder of Tomorrow.io, in a news release. “Tomorrow.io is offering a step change in price-to-performance ratio, enabled by private innovation. Given their lofty costs, governmental missions have been limited to single satellites with revisit rates on the order of days to weeks. With every subsequent launch, Tomorrow.io will get closer to an era of truly proliferated weather sensing from space, closing this decades-old gap. We’re building the de facto GPS network for weather.”
R1 and R2 represent the first and second of Tomorrow.io’s planned satellite constellation, which, once complete, will provide near-real-time scans of precipitation, ocean parameters and atmospheric profiles for any point on Earth. This will enable near-real-time scanning, an improvement from Earth’s previous capabilities of scanning once every three days, the company said.
How Tomorrow.io has revolutionized weather forecasting
Unlike traditional forecasting methods, which often provide repackaged, raw data in a manner that isn’t readily actionable, Tomorrow.io revolutionizes the process. The company turns raw weather data into AI-powered, hyperlocal insights, all derived from a single, trusted source.
The AI-powered platform provides users with a granular, hyperlocal weather forecast of more than 40 weather parameters like general weather, marine, fire, flood, solar, land, air quality and advanced precipitation data. But it’s more than just a forecast; Tomorrow.io provides weather intelligence, empowering decision-makers with holistic information about natural conditions that could impact their businesses.
Tomorrow.io’s weather intelligence platform integrates with ELD feeds and forward-facing camera systems to provide hyperlocal, real-time full fleet visibility. (Image: Tomorrow.io)
The platform allows organizations to set customizable and actionable alerts from one trusted source, helping them identify risk and carry out their predefined severe weather protocols so required personnel can seamlessly take action on an individual, department or organization-wide scale.
Giving everyone access to next-generation weather forecasting
While many people take for granted the dependability and accuracy of weather forecasts in their home countries, not all places on Earth have access to the same reliability. The lack of quality coverage across the world was why Tomorrow.io set out to make a change.
With the global reach of its constellation radars, Tomorrow.io will enable worldwide access to unrivaled weather intelligence.
“About five billion people live outside of reliable weather radar coverage today, leading to a huge gap in the quality and availability of life-saving weather information,” stated Rei Goffer, chief strategy officer and co-founder of Tomorrow.io, in the news release. “Those most impacted by climate change are the least equipped to deal with it today, and we are taking a major step to fix this. As the planet moves into an era of climate-induced weather catastrophes, food insecurity and new levels of volatility and risk, Tomorrow.io’s constellation will power climate adaptation for generations to come.”
Significant improvements for enterprise organizations, countries and governmental agencies
Global enterprise organizations, countries of all sizes and governmental agencies face a monumental task: responding to increasingly frequent and volatile climate change-induced weather events.
Not only must organizations respond to day-to-day occurrences, but they need a way to plan for the future, which includes strategies for climate adaptation, climate security and operations sustainability. CEOs are responsible for explaining their climate plans to investors that prove their organizations are capable of dealing with potential climate-related changes that will impact their businesses.
Tomorrow.io is already helping organizations across numerous industries and governmental agencies plan for the future and deal with today’s weather challenges while improving profit margins and mitigating safety hazards. Tomorrow.io has been awarded more than $20 million in contracts from the U.S. Department of Defense, the company said, and is executing a collaborative research and development agreement with the National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration.
“The prospects of a commercial follow-on mission to the NASA Global Precipitation Measurement Mission (GPM), but with 10 times the revisit rate, presents an incredibly exciting future to the global weather community,” said J. Marshall Shepherd, Georgia Athletic Association distinguished professor of geography and atmospheric sciences at the University of Georgia, in the news release.
Welcome to a new era of supply chain resilience
The global supply chain is highly exposed to weather-related disruptions.
Like a domino effect, a weather event that wreaks havoc on operations at a manufacturing plant in a foreign country, mid-transit to a terminal or port or over the open seas can be the reason a critical shipment is delayed or arrives damaged.
Whether due to large-scale weather events or everyday and seasonal conditions, these disruptions occur with regularity in all modes of transport. The lack of radar coverage in certain parts of the world, especially over open oceans, leaves whether a critical shipment will arrive on time up to chance.
Thanks to the near-real-time global precipitation data Tomorrow.io’s satellite constellation will furnish, companies will have visibility over previously data-sparse routes that will allow them to identify potential disruptions early on, and reroute impacted vehicles, ships and aircraft.
This superior insight, powered by AI and space technology, will enable them to achieve on-time delivery and avoid damages more often, and ultimately, better prepare for and manage the increasingly pertinent need to create weather-resilient supply chains.
Click here to watch “6 Years to Launch” to learn more about Tomorrow.io’s journey so far.
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