Near Real Time Lightning Data for Operations and Science Applications from the Lightning Imaging Sensor (LIS) on the International Space Station (ISS)

As an exciting follow-on to the Lightning Imaging Sensor (LIS) on the long-lived Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission, a space-qualified LIS built as a flight-spare for TRMM will be delivered to the International Space Station (ISS) for a 2 year or longer mission, flown as a hosted payload on the Department of Defense (DoD) Space Test Program-Houston 5 (STP-H5) mission. The STP-H5 payload containing LIS is scheduled launch from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center to the ISS in November 2016, aboard the SpaceX Cargo Resupply Services-10 (SpaceX-10) mission, installed in the unpressurized “trunk” of the Dragon spacecraft. Upon arrival at ISS, the payload will be robotically installed in a nadir-viewing location on the external truss of the ISS.  Following installation on the ISS, the LIS Science Team will work with the STP-H5 and ISS Operations Teams to power-on LIS, complete instrument checkout and commence LIS orbital operations, managed from the LIS Payload Operations Control Center (POCC) located at the National Space Science Technology Center (NSSTC) in Huntsville, AL. One of the unique contributions provided for the first time from LIS will be the capability to transmit and disseminate lightning data in near real time, especially for operational applications in data sparse regions such as over the ocean to contribute to storm warnings, nowcasts, oceanic aviation and international Significant Meteorological advisories (SIGMETs).  The near real time LIS data is provided to interested users in partnership with NASA’s Short Term Prediction Research and Transition (SPoRT) center, also located at the NSSTC.  Potential operational users include the National Weather Service (NWS) Pacific Region, Joint Typhoon Warning Center, Ocean Prediction Center, Aviation Weather Center, and National Hurricane Center.