NPOESS' Key to Low Data Latency: SafetyNet

A key feature of the National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS) is the Northrop Grumman Space Technology patent-pending data collection architecture known as ‘SafetyNetTM‘. The centerpiece of SafetyNetTM 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. The poster will include a schematic of SafetyNetTM within the total NPOESS program architecture, a map of the worldwide SafetyNetTM receptor locations, a graph of the percent of NPOESS Environmental Data Records (EDRs) versus time from observation to delivery, and example photos of SafetyNetTM receptor antennae and radomes