Processing and display of atmospheric electricity data to support launch operations at the Eastern Range

The Range Standardization and Automation (RSA) program includes improvements in weather support systems and displays for space launch operations at the Western and Eastern Ranges. A new display system based on the National Weather Service's Advanced Weather Interactive Processing System (AWIPS) has been deployed at the Ranges, providing integrated and efficient processing and display of weather information to Launch Weather Officers. While lightning can affect operations on both coasts, it is of course much more significant at the Eastern Range, where instrumentation includes field mills reporting both electric potential and discharge (flashes), a Cloud to Ground Lightning Surveillance System, and a Lightning Detection and Ranging system that provides three-dimensional location of discharge events.

In this paper, we will outline the data processing for these datasets and illustrate the display methods used to present these data to the weather forecasters, using text, 2-d, and interactive 3-d formats.