CSPP Geo Software for Processing Direct Broadcast Data from a New Generation of Geostationary Satellites

The Community Satellite Processing Package for Geostationary Data (CSPP Geo) is funded by the NOAA GOES-R Program to develop and distribute free software allowing direct broadcast users to process data from geostationary satellites. Supported missions include GOES-16 (formerly GOES-R), GOES-15 and GOES-13, as well as the Japanese Himawari-8 mission.

Launched in 2016, GOES-16 is the first of a new generation of U.S. weather satellites with significantly enhanced capabilities. Instruments on GOES-16 include the Advanced Baseline Imager (ABI), the Geostationary Lightning Mapper (GLM) and multiple space weather sensors. The GOES-16 direct broadcast stream, called GOES Rebroadcast (GRB), allows users to receive data directly from the satellite in real-time. CSPP Geo software allows users to process the raw GRB data stream, generating products from all instruments locally and with low latency. ABI data can be further processed to generate Level 2 derived geophysical products.

The Japanese Himawari-8 satellite was launched in 2014, and includes the Advanced Himawari Imager (AHI), with capabilities similar to ABI. Data is distributed at reduced resolution via the HimawariCast direct broadcast stream, and at full resolution via the HimawariCloud internet service. CSPP Geo software is available to generate Level 2 geophysical products from AHI data in either format, using algorithms that were developed for GOES-R.

Topics will include an overview of Level 1 and Level 2 product generation software for GOES-16 and Himawari-8, quicklook and RGB image generation capabilities, challenges related to the new generation of satellites, observed software performance, current work, and future plans including support for the upcoming GOES-S mission.