J. Tichler
Brookhaven National Laboratory
This report discusses the issues involved in obtaining real-time or near real-time direct read access or shared access to satellite data to augment the measurements made at ARM sites. The currently orbiting and planned operational satellites that have a real-time broadcast capability are listed and discussed. Several methods of obtaining data from the satellites are discussed. The assumptions made are that the acquired real-time satellite data will be used operationally for weather forecasting at the ARM sites and as input to the models which require real-time data.
A discussion of the Man-computer Interactive Data Access System (McIDAS) hardware and software system developed by the Space Science and Engineering Center (SSEC) of the University of Wisconsin (UW) is included.
Information received from various vendors (Vendors were contacted for information on products in late 1990 and early 1991. Therefore price information may be out of date.) who provide equipment and software for the acqui-sition of direct broadcast satellite data is reviewed. In addition, the experience of the NASA Ames staff in acquiring equipment and software to collect real-time operational satellite data is reviewed.
Three classes of satellites are discussed. The first of these classes is the Polar Orbiting Environmental Satellites (POES). This type of satellite includes
the U.S. NOAA Advanced TIROS-N (ATN), the Peoples Republic of China Feng Yun-1B (FY-1B), and the Soviet Meteor satellites. These polar orbiting satellites
cover the entire globe with increasing density of coverage approaching the poles. The second class of satellites is the Geostationary Operational Environmental
Satellites (GOES). GOES include the usual two U.S. NOAA GOES, the Japanese Geostationary Meteorological Satellites, and the European Meteorological Satellites
(METEOSAT). The geostationary satellites do not provide coverage north or south of 605 latitude, and there are gaps in coverage north and south of 40
. Figure
1, taken from Rao et al. (1990) shows the coverage of all the geostationary satellites. The third class is the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program satellites,
which are operated by the Department of Defense and are also polar orbiting. These satellites are discussed separately from the other polar orbiters, since
their data are transmitted to Earth in encrypted form.
