JPSS CGS C3S Expandability: Distributed Receptor Network and McMurdo Improvements

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) are jointly acquiring the next-generation civilian weather and environmental satellite system: the Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS). JPSS will contribute the afternoon orbit component and ground processing system of the restructured National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS). As such, JPSS will replace the current Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellites (POES) managed by NOAA and the ground processing component of both POES and the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) replacement known as the Defense Weather Satellite System (DWSS), managed by the Department of Defense (DoD). The JPSS satellites will carry a suite of sensors designed to collect meteorological, oceanographic, climatological, and solar-geophysical observations of the earth, atmosphere, and space. The command and telemetry portion of JPSS Common Ground System (JPSS CGS) is the Command, Control and Communications Segment (C3S), developed by Raytheon Intelligence and Information Systems (IIS). C3S is responsible for managing the overall JPSS and DWSS missions from control and status of the space and ground assets to ensuring delivery of timely, high quality data from the Space Segments (SS) to the Interface Data Processing Segment (IDPS) for processing. In addition, the C3S provides the globally- distributed ground assets necessary to collect and transport mission, telemetry, and command data between the satellites and the processing locations. The C3S will provide all functions required for day-to-day commanding and state-of-health monitoring of the NPP, JPSS and DWSS satellites, and delivery of Stored Mission Data (SMD) to each U.S. Weather Central Interface Data Processor (IDP) for data products development and transfer to System subscribers. The C3S will also monitor and report system-wide health and status and data communications with external systems and between the JPSS CGS segments. Two crucial elements of JPSS CGS C3S expandability are the Distributed Receptor Network (DRN) and communications improvements to McMurdo Station, Antarctica. DRN is a key feature of the JPSS CGS. The centerpiece of DRN is the system of fifteen globally-distributed ground receptors developed by Raytheon Company. These receptors or antennae will collect up to five times as much environmental data approximately four times faster than current polar-orbiting weather satellites. Once collected, these data will be forwarded near-instantaneously to U.S. weather centrals via the global fiber optic network for processing in environmental prediction models. In January 2008, Raytheon Company achieved a significant milestone for the NPOESS (now JPSS) program by successfully completing the first phase of a major communications upgrade for Antarctica. The upgrade of the off-continent satellite communications link at McMurdo Station more than tripled the bandwidth available for scientific research, weather prediction, and health and safety of those stationed at McMurdo. The project is part of the company's C3S under development for JPSS CGS. This upgrade paves the way for a second major communications upgrade planned for 2012 in preparation for the use of McMurdo Station as one of the 15 JPSS CGS ground stations worldwide that will be receiving environmental data collected by the JPSS and DWSS satellites.