The Next Generation of Satellite Direct Readout CapabilitiesUsing

NASA’s Earth Observing System and the NPOESS Preparatory Project

Dr. James C. Dodge, NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC 20546

ABSTRACT

NASA has implemented a free direct broadcast system on X-band to share the high-spectral and high-spatial resolution data from its Earth Observing System (EOS) data with the world community. Currently, there are approximately 60 receiving stations worldwide. This talk will describe the data that are available, the methods for obtaining free interpretation software, the hardware that is required, and the cooperative sharing nature of the participants. NASA developed the initial receiving system and worked with commercial partners to lower the cost of X-band receiving systems for general use. All except five of the systems in current use were provided by industry or by the users themselves. NASA sponsors a network of five stations that together cover the full U.S. area. NASA’s goal for each receiving site was to make it possible for users to receive the data and to generate useful near-real-time products in less than an hour.

This talk will describe many of the possible real-time products from the EOS sensor data. It also will illustrate the accomplishments of some of the users of this new system and will point potential new users to Internet sites with further information, software and data products available in real time.

The EOS Direct Broadcast activity also has paved the way for the development of direct readout system hardware for the NPOESS Preparatory Project (NPP). That system will be described and a transportable system will be set up and operated outside the conference center to illustrate this new technology and its reduced size and complexity compared to past X-band receiving systems.

James C. Dodge

Dr. James C. Dodge has been the Weather Program Manager at NASA Headquarters, in Washington, DC since 1975. He has also managed programs on Severe Storm and Local Weather Research, Mesoscale Meteorology, Global Change Data Analysis, EOS Interdisciplinary Science, and Pathfinder Data Set Program, and held high level or management positions as Program Scientist Responsibilities in NPOESS Preparatory Project (NPP), Geosynchronous Imaging Fourier-Transform Spectrometer (GIFTS), Climate Data Records, Earth Observing System Direct Broadcast Program, Geostationary Lighting Mapper.

Jim Dodge received , Bachelors and Masters Degrees in Meteorology from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and a Ph.D. in AstroGeophysics from University of Colorado, 1972