Description:

Panelists will discuss next generation ground systems with emphasis on cost-efficient, sustainable, enterprise architecture based on innovations and disruptive technological changes. This Panel will first examine the current state of operational ground systems in support of weather satellites, including NOAA, Space Force, NASA, international and commercial systems.  The Panel will discuss performance limitations and bottlenecks the current ground segment faces, especially with new satellite systems and ever-expanding data streams from Earth Observing satellites.  The Panel will then discuss innovations and disruptive technological changes that have emerged in recent years that would transform Ground Systems into a more efficient, resilient, cost effective, architecture of the future.  The Panel will identify how these changes will impact the future operational aspects of the ground segment.  This includes the emergence of new business models, promoting smaller space acquisition systems, the realization of cheaper and stronger, on orbit and on the ground, processing resources and the enablement of new applications.  The Panelists will also argue the case for and against the role of the commercial sector in supporting the Government’s needs of ground operations.  

The Panel will attempt to present lessons learned from Europe, Asia, and the Southern Hemisphere that would provide insight on the economical sustainability of ground operations of the future. 

This Panel Discussion is a series of ongoing discussions that aim at two goals. The first is revisiting the status of innovations and technological changes in the ground segment.   The second is to envision how these systems will continue to experience disruptive and game changer evolutions and how those will impact operational weather and environmental monitoring.