Development of a NOAA Data Collection System (DCS) Forward Link Capability for GeoXO

The NOAA GOES Data Collection System (DCS) is an environmental data relay hosted on the GOES-R series of satellites that services over 40,000 Data Collection Platforms (DCPs) in Western Hemisphere, including a wide variety of national agencies and institutions. Currently the DCS service is operated in a one-way communication mode, with the GOES-R satellites receiving and relaying telemetry transmitted from the platforms to NOAA’s DCS ground infrastructure. The ability to command DCPs using a forward link was a function available on past GOES series, however while the GOES-R spacecraft carry a forward link relay, the associated NOAA ground infrastructure and necessary DCP forward link receiver were never fully implemented. DCS users have expressed a need for access to a forward link, both on GOES-R and for the next generation of NOAA geostationary operational satellites, GeoXO (Geostationary Extended Observations). Access to forward link commanding would enable users to remotely reset or reconfigure their DCPs, which is especially valuable for platforms located in areas which offer limited access and/or doing so represents a significant resource burden. In addition, for users such as United States Geological Survey (USGS), a major user of GOES DCS, this capability is particularly crucial during extreme atmospheric/hydrologic events when remote sites cannot be accessed to be reset or reconfigured. In order to meet these user needs, NOAA NESDIS in collaboration with NASA Goddard Spaceflight Center (GSFC) is in the process of developing an engineering reference design for a forward link modulator and receiver which would complete the current GOES-R forward link system and enable DCP commanding functionality. In parallel, NOAA NESDIS in collaboration with the NOAA National Ocean Service (NOS), NOAA National Data Buoy Center (NDBC), and USGS is evaluating an alternate forward link architecture using new low-cost commercial space-based communications networks, primarily from the "Internet-of-Things" (IoT) ecosystem, which may provide an equivalent forward link capability using commercial off the shelf hardware and software. Both approaches are intended to allow for the connection of a forward link receiver to an existing DCP externally, allowing for immediate fielding of this capability, while also providing a reference architecture for DCP manufacturers for future inclusion directly into their own DCP designs. This poster will provide an overview of the NOAA DCS forward link development efforts, including plans and progress in field testing with NOS, NDBC, and USGS.