A008-0024
NOAA/NESDIS’ Ongoing Efforts to Define the Next Generation Architecture of Satellites and Instruments

Monday, 7 December 2020
Poster
NOAA Osaap1, Frank W. Gallagher III1, Vanessa L. Griffin1, Xiaokun Li1, Kate Suzanne Becker1, David D. Spencer1 and Stephen R Marley2, (1)NOAA National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service, OSAAP, Silver Spring, MD, United States, (2)The Aerospace Corporation, Systems Architecture and Engineering, Silver Spring, MD, United States
Abstract:
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) conducted a study, titled the NOAA Satellite Observing System Architecture (NSOSA) study, to plan for the next generation of weather satellites. This study outlined requirements for continuing and new capabilities and defined architectures in which NOAA should be investing. One of the concepts recommended by the study was disaggregating high availability data collection from other capabilities that don’t require the highest availability. NSOSA identified global sounding as a capability that required the highest availability and was designated by NESDIS for one of the earliest capabilities to be investigated.

NESDIS released a Broad Agency Announcement in 2019 to fund instrument and mission concepts for multiple missions including regional real time imagery over the Western Hemisphere and the poles, global and regional temperature and moisture soundings, and a variety of space weather measurements. These studies funded instrument and mission concept studies that had the longest lead time for deployment. In particular NESDIS was interested in new technologies that could reduce size, weight, and cost of an instrument while maintaining nearly the same capability as today and identifying the “knees in the curve” of cost vs. capability. NESIDS funded studies of mission concepts where various instruments were flown together or disaggregated. Finally, NESDIS wanted to understand if future commercial capabilities could replace or augment NOAA satellites and instruments. The results of these studies will be used to inform the next set of program and project formulation steps including more detailed instrument development and LEO, geostationary and extended orbits, and space weather mission concepts.

NESDIS is also engaged in a top-level architecture study of satellite ground capabilities. The NESDIS Ground Enterprise Study (NGES) is looking at how satellite operations, data operations, and science operations might evolve based on the NSOSA flight architecture in the 2030-2050 timeframe and adoption of new business opportunities and capabilities.

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