The NOAA/NESDIS MODIS Near Real Time System was implemented under Computer Sciences Corporation’s (CSC) Central Satellite Data Processing contract in order to ingest MODIS data at NOAA.

The first step in processing MODIS data is to convert the rate-buffered data (RBD) to Level 0 (L0) data. In developing the subsystem for converting RBD files into five minute L0 data granules, NOAA encountered some technical problems related to the way the MODIS data is transmitted to EDOS (EOS Data Operations System) from the spacecraft contacts.

The major technical problems are the various types of time discontinuity in data and bit flips. The poster will present a description of an algorithm and a converter program which solved all these problems, as well as an overview of RBD file structures.