Transition of the ACE and GOES-N,O,P space weather product processing systems to NOAA operations

The Advanced Composition Explorer (ACE) and the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) N,O,P space weather product processing systems are legacy systems that are being transitioned from the NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC) in Boulder Colorado to the NOAA Office of Satellite Data Processing and Distribution (OSDPD) in Suitland Maryland where they will be supported operationally. The NOAA Center for Satellite Applications and Research (STAR) is leading the technical portion of this transition effort. The ACE real time solar wind (RTSW) system and GOES series satellites are continuously monitoring the solar-terrestrial environment to provide warnings and alerts of severe geomagnetic activities. The instruments onboard the ACE and GOES missions measure (1) the speeds, densities, and temperatures of solar wind particles (e.g. protons, electrons and helium nuclei), (2) the fluxes of isotropic solar energetic particles, (3) the isotopic composition of heavier solar wind nuclei (e.g. from He to Ni) and cosmic rays, (4) the local/in-situ interplanetary magnetic field direction and magnitude, and (5) the solar soft X-ray fluxes and images at different energy levels. All these parameters are measured at 1 AU upstream of Earth as a function of real time. This presentation will discuss the system designs, the available products, and the transition activities which include: porting of software from QNX to Linux, modification of system Inter Process Communication (IPC), adapting the system designs to meet network security requirements in the operational environment, generation of output products in netCDF, integration into operational scheduling and monitoring, operational documentation, and validation efforts. The products from these systems will be available operationally through SWPC and OSDPD. Non-real time products will be archived at the National Geophysical Data Center (NGDC).