Fleet Numerical Meteorology and Oceanography Center (FNMOC), an echelon three command under the Commander, Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command (CNMOC), is the Department of Defense's primary numerical prediction center for operational meteorological and oceanographic analysis and forecast products worldwide. Since target areas of interest are constantly changing, and often centered in data void regions, the assimilation of satellite data into models is given a high priority. When direct sources of satellite data are not available to the CNMOC's worldwide regional centers, FNMOC is also responsible for distributing real time satellite data to those centers for use by on-site applications.

Currently, FNMOC receives, processes, and/or distributes the following generic list of satellite products: microwave-derived wind/water vapor/rain/ice, multi-channel sea surface temperature, altimeter-derived wind/waves/sea height, scatterometer-derived marine surface wind vectors, feature tracking winds, infrared/microwave sounder radiances, multi-sensor 3-d cloud maps/snow cover, and visible/infrared/microwave imagery. Since the types and sources of satellite data are wide ranging, FNMOC has become adept at processing all levels of satellite data and utilizing varied types communication systems.

This paper describes future satellite initiatives at FNMOC, which will enhance and expand the current list of products. FNMOC is a key participant in the upcoming Special Sensor Microwave Imager Sounder (SSMIS) validation campaign, and will process and distribute these data. We are also a major participant in the Coriolis WindSat program, which will derive marine surface wind vectors using passive microwave. We are also involved in the design of the National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System, and will host a central processing system. We will receive and process ADEOS-II scatterometer data from our partners at NOAA/NESDIS. FNMOC is a candidate DOD distribution center for the Geostationary Imaging Fourier Transform Spectrometer program.