Data Processing of GOES-R Space Weather Products for Operational Use With SPADES

The Satellite Processing And Distribution Enterprise System (SPADES) is a real-time GOES-R satellite series space weather software application responsible for ingesting and transforming L1b products from the EXIS, MAG, SEISS, and SUVI instruments into operational L2 products and distributing them to users, primarily the NWS Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC).

Space weather events such as solar flares and geomagnetic storms can have significant impacts on Earth. Thus, the ability to process GOES-R satellite data and produce 48 distinct products in Flexible Image Transport System (FITS) and Network Common Data Form (netCDF4) formats with minimal delay is crucial for providing timely warnings and mitigating the adverse effects of these events. Many challenges have presented themselves while developing and deploying the SPADES system, including but not limited to how to handle occasional latent data and out of order time series data. The system must be able to manage those scenarios and more, as SPADES needs to be a fully autonomous real-time process and therefore requires a high level of fault-tolerance at each step in the pipeline.

In this presentation, we will be examining the software implementation and architecture chosen to tailor the software for the unique and secure NWS operating environment, IDP. We will also be discussing the significance of the application as part of the greater GOES-R data processing pipeline and outline future enhancements to ensure continuity as GOES-19 replaces GOES-16 as GOES East.