Preparing for the next generation of direct broadcast

With the anticipated launch of NPP, JPSS-1 and GOES-R in the next five years, the flow of weather data to users will rise ten times (Berchoff, 2009). This volume of data will put a strain on the government infrastructure tasked for data distribution, which could limit real-time data distribution to government users only, forcing others to retrieve their data days to weeks later. In order to receive real-time data, direct reception will become a necessity.

SeaSpace Corporation has created a complete solution in anticipation of the forthcoming needs of data users. This solution is made up of four parts: 1) ground reception stations, 2) software to process the data into products, 3) data storage hardware, and 4) data cataloging software and server.

The ground station component consists of two systems, an X/L/S-band tracking system and an L-band geostationary system. The combined X-, L-, and S-band reception capabilities are included to ensure the user can receive the maximum amount of data. The X-band receiver in this system can receive data from Terra, Aqua, NPP, JPSS, Oceansat-2, and FY-3. The L-band receiver can currently receive NOAA and MetOp. The follow-on to MetOp will be assigned the mid-morning orbit in the next generation constellation, ensuring L-band reception will continue to be a necessity. The S-band is used for DMSP reception, which may, in the near-future, become more widely available to non-defense clients.

The L-band stationary antenna in the proposed solution is used for reception of geostationary satellites, such as GOES, COMS, and MTSAT. Upon launch, GOES-R data can be received with hardware/software upgrade.

Once the data is received by the ground stations, TeraScan's Rapid Environmental Processing System (REPS) automatically processes the data through level 3 products using the official NOAA and NASA algorithms. REPS can process large amounts of satellite data incredibly quickly: for instance, all MODIS products are produced in less than fifteen minutes. After processing, the raw data and products are moved to TeraVault™, SeaSpace's data storage solution. TeraVault™ comes standard with 84 TB of storage, can be easily expanded, and allows online and readily accessible storage for data. In order to easily manage data of this volume, SeaSpace recommends the TeraCat™ data catalog and retrieval system, which gives users and their customers a web-based interface to search for and order their data.

A full direct-reception solution is the only way to guarantee real-time access to the next generation of environmental satellite data. The currently over-tasked system of data distribution via the internet is ill-equipped to service local and foreign customers on a real-time basis now, and this will only get worse as more data comes online.