NOAA GEO Ground System Evolution RFI (Preliminary) Attachment 1.pdf

National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service (NESDIS)

GEO Ground System Background

September 2024

U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) National Environmental Satellite, Data and Information Service (NESDIS) Office of Geostationary Earth Orbit Observations (GEO)

BACKGROUND

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) mission is to understand and predict changes in climate, weather, ocean, and coasts, to share that knowledge and information with others, and to conserve and manage coastal and marine ecosystems and resources. NOAA is observing, measuring, monitoring, collecting and analyzing environmental data. NOAA translates those publicly available data into Earth system models and information as well as tools, predictions and projections for public use. NOAA’s trusted data are the basis for the daily weather and air-quality forecasts. Geostationary weather satellites like the GOES-R are one of the primary tools used to observe, measure, and monitor the Earth’s environmental data.

NOAA’s Strategic Plan for FY22-FY26 outlines three strategic goals to support the NOAA mission. The first Strategic Goal outlines how NOAA will build a Climate Ready Nation and establish NOAA as the primary federal authoritative provider of climate information and services. Objective 1.5 of that Strategic Goal states that “NOAA will sustain and improve its observing and data dissemination system infrastructure with new technologies while leveraging more observations through innovative public and private partnerships. The agency will develop a comprehensive observation portfolio and deploy next-generation satellite programs and data processing systems — as well as other remote sensing and in-situ observation platforms, such as advanced aircraft, ships and uncrewed systems.”

To support this Strategic Goal Objective, NOAA’s National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service (NESDIS) Office of Geostationary Earth Orbit Observations (GEO) Ground Project Management Office (PMO) seeks to evolve the current GEO Ground System to develop a multi-mission environment to support continuity of current NOAA geostationary satellite missions and future NOAA geostationary satellite and space weather (SWx) missions. Evolving the GEO Ground System should identify opportunities to simplify the current design of the system, take advantage of emerging technologies where appropriate, enable system agility, scalability, and durability.

NESDIS & GEO PROGRAM OVERVIEW

NESDIS Overview

The National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service (NESDIS) supports NOAA’s mission of Science, Service, and Stewardship through their satellite missions, data centers, data and information products and services. It is an end-to-end responsibility that underpins NOAA’s value to the Nation. The United States depends on NOAA to provide satellite data and imagery for meteorological forecasts, space weather warnings and alerts, and emergency services to support continuity of government.

NESDIS is one of six Line Offices within NOAA. NESDIS is responsible for the collection and provision of the critical satellite observations of Earth and the Earth/Sun system, and other essential environmental information needed for disaster preparedness, all hazards response and recovery and the protection of the Nation’s critical infrastructure and natural resources. These products and information enable services used in preparation for events that impact our climate, weather, oceans, daily lives and national safety and provide essential information for national, regional and local planners and officials.

NESDIS is organized into Assistant Corporate Services (Assistant CIO for Satellites, or ACIO-S, an ACFO, an ACACO, etc.), three satellite offices (GEO, Low Earth Orbit (LEO), and Space Weather Observations (SWO)), and five Science, Product, and Service Offices (STAR, SAE, NCEI, OSPO, and OCS). The organization of NESDIS is shown in Figure 1 below.

Figure 1: NESDIS Organization

The Office of Geostationary Earth Orbit Observations

The NESDIS GEO manages the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites – R Series (GOES-R) and the Geostationary Extended Observations (GeoXO) programs. Both programs a collaborative development and acquisition effort between NOAA and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to develop, launch, and operate the satellites.

The GEO is organized into a Program Office, Program Office support groups, and Flight and Ground Projects for each program. The GEO Program Office includes the GEO Director, Deputy Director, Assistant Director, Chief of Staff, Deputy Chief of Staff, and Program Support Manager. The Program Office support groups include Program Control, Program Contracts, Program Mission Assurance, Program Systems Engineering, and Program Science. Each of the GEO programs is then divided into a Flight Project and a Ground Project. Today, GEO has a GeoXO Flight Project office, a GOES-R Flight Project office, and a GEO Ground Project office.

The GOES-R.gov website contains an organizational chart depicting this office structure.

Geostationary Weather Satellites

NOAA’s latest generation of Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites (GOES), known as the GOES-R Series, is the Nation’s most advanced fleet of geostationary weather satellites. Geostationary satellites circle the Earth in geosynchronous orbit, which means they orbit the Earth’s equatorial plane at a speed matching the Earth’s rotation. This allows them to stay in a fixed position in the sky, remaining stationary with respect to a point on the ground.

GOES satellites continually view the Western Hemisphere from approximately 22,300 miles above Earth. GOES-R West is positioned at 137.2°W and GOES-R East is positioned at 75.2°W.

The GOES-R Series is a four-satellite program within NESDIS that includes GOES-16, GOES- 17, GOES-18 and GOES-19, each with an expected operational lifetime of 15 years (10 years of operations plus 5 years of storage). All four satellites in the GOES-R Series are currently on orbit.

The GOES-R Series satellites include multiple science instruments and auxiliary communications payloads. Additionally, GOES-R Series provides a set of communications services (Unique Payload Services) in support of the Data Collection System (DCS), High-Rate Information Transmission/ Emergency Managers Weather Information Network (HRIT/EMWIN), and Search-and-Rescue Satellite Aided Tracking (SARSAT).

The GEO Ground System also supports operations of the Space Weather Follow-On Lagrange 1 (SWFO-L1) satellite scheduled for launch in 2025. To reflect the evolving enterprise-scale of the system, the GOES-R GS was renamed to the Geostationary Earth Orbit (GEO) Ground System

(GS).

Space Weather Satellites

At the center of our solar system lies the Sun. Activity on the Sun's surface creates a type of weather called space weather. The Sun is a dynamic and complex body continuously emitting radiation, a constant stream of particles known as the solar wind, and generates a large magnetic field that extends throughout our solar system (Interplanetary Magnetic Field, IMF). Conditions on the solar surface and in its corona can cause a multitude of space weather phenomena such as solar flares, coronal mass ejections (CMEs), solar energetic proton (SEP) events, and high-speed solar wind Streams (HSS) that create changes in ambient plasma, magnetic fields, radiation, particle flows in space, and interaction with the magnetosphere.

Figure 2: The Sun’s Impact on the Earth (©ESA/Science Office, CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO)

Earth's magnetic field offers us some protection from space weather phenomena. However, under the right circumstances, energy and momentum can be transferred into the terrestrial system.

When this happens, the near-earth environment can become disturbed with the effects felt on a global scale, and this level of disturbance is one way that we quantify the space weather impact at Earth. These complex events can have significant economic consequences and have the potential to negatively affect numerous sectors, including communications, satellite and airline operations, manned space flights, navigation and surveying systems, as well as the electric power grid. Monitoring the Sun and measuring conditions between the Earth and the Sun is critical to protecting life on Earth.

Space weather satellites are the primary observation tool used to collect data on space weather conditions. The GOES-R series of satellites have five specialized instruments to monitor space weather conditions close to the Earth (SUVI, EXIS, SEISS, MAG, and CCOR). NOAA’s Space Weather Follow-On (SWFO) program consists of two projects that will ensure that the agency has the best and most reliable information about solar activity. The first project is the SWFO-L1 project or mission. The SWFO-L1 satellite mission will use a suite of instruments to make in-situ measurements of the solar wind thermal plasma and magnetic field, as well as a Compact Coronagraph (CCOR) instrument to detect CMEs. The second project is the ground services component to support SWFO. The Ground Services comprises a SWFO Antenna Network, a mission operations center for command and control of the SWFO-L1 Observatory, and a product generation-product distribution (PG/PD) service.

SWFO is not a geostationary orbit satellite. The “L1” in SWFO-L1 refers to where the satellite will travel in the solar system to monitor and observe the Sun’s conditions with an unobstructed view of the Sun. Lagrange points are positions in space where objects sent there tend to stay put.

At Lagrange points, the gravitational pull of two large masses precisely equals the centripetal force required for a small object to move with them. These points in space can be used by spacecraft to reduce fuel consumption needed to remain in position. In the Earth-Sun system, Lagrange-1, or L1, is between Earth and the Sun about 1.5 million km (900,000 miles) from Earth. This is where SWFO-L1 will sit to observe the Sun and collect data.

GEO Ground Enterprise Roadmap

The future GEO Ground System will continue to support the GOES-R series and SWFO-L1 satellites, as well as the Geostationary Extended Observations (GeoXO) Program, which is the follow-on to the GOES-R series and is slated to be launched starting in 2032. When operational, GeoXO will consist of three satellites operating in geostationary orbit (an East, West, and Center) plus spares. The Ground Segment of GeoXO will be implemented as an evolution of the GEO Ground System that will also include heritage GEO Ground Segment capabilities. Based on the January 2024 GOES flyout estimates, as well as predicted lifespans, the recommended evolution should take into account the timelines shown in Figure 3.

Figure 3 Flyout plan of missions supported by GEO Ground System

GEO GROUND SYSTEM PLANNED EVOLUTION

Current State of the GEO Ground System – Overview

The GEO Ground System includes multiple elements - Mission Management (MM) for command and control, Product Generation/Product Distribution (PG/PD), also known as Data Operations (DO), Enterprise Management (EM)/Infrastructure System (IS), also known as Enterprise Infrastructure (EI), and Antenna Element (AE). The specification for the current system is provided as an attachment to this RFI.

The GEO ground system receives raw data from GOES-R Series spacecraft and generates Level 0, Level 1b and Level 2+ products. For the CCOR instrument on GOES-19 and the SWFO-L1 satellite the GEO ground system receives the raw data, generates Level 0 data and forwards it on to the Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC) and Alternate Processing Site (APS).

GEO Ground Enterprise Roadmap

CY▸

QTR▸ 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4

GOES-16

GOES-17

GOES-18

GOES-19

SWFO-L1

SW Next L1a SpWx GEO SW Next L1b

GEO-I1

GEO-I2

GEO-S1

2033 2034 2035 2036 203720322027 2028 2029 2030 2031

Storage

Operational Storage

Operational Life Estimate (TBD)

Potenti a l ly s upporting 8 s pacecraft simultaneously

Operational (5-year design life with 10 years of consumables onboard)

Life Estimate (TBD)

For the remaining instruments on the GOES-R Series, the Level 1b data from each instrument and Level 2+ data from the Geostationary Lightning Mapper (GLM) are distributed to direct readout users by means of spacecraft relay (S-Band uplink, L-Band Downlink) via a service called GOES Rebroadcast (GRB). Level 1b products and Level 2+ products are provided to the Office of Satellite and Product Operations (OSPO) Product Distribution and Access (PDA) system. PDA then makes this data available to operational data users, including the data archive centers via the Comprehensive Large Array-data Stewardship System (CLASS).

The Product levels are defined as follows:

Level 0 Unprocessed instrument data at full resolution

Level 1b Level 0 data with radiometric and geometric correction applied to produce parameters in physical units

Level 2+ Derived environmental variables with spatial and temporal resolution comparable to Level 1 data

The GEO Ground System is currently deployed across a number of locations. Those deployment locations are defined as:

The NOAA Satellite Operations Facility (NSOF) in Suitland, MD, houses the primary Mission Management (MM), and selected Enterprise Management (EM), Product Generation (PG), and Product Distribution (PD) functions.

The Wallops Command and Data Acquisition Station (WCDAS), located in Wallops, VA, provides the primary space communications services including three 16.4-meter antennas, EM and MM functions, and selected PG and PD functions to produce the Key Performance Parameters (KPPs) for distribution to the Advanced Weather Interactive Processing System (AWIPS). The KPPs consist of the L2 Cloud and Moisture Imagery (CMI) (CONUS, Full Disk, and Mesoscale) product and its sectorized products. The 16.4-meter antennas at both sites will operate continuously for the life of the GOES-R Series and will be used for both GOES-R and the planned GeoXO generation of satellites.

The third site is the GOES-R remote backup portion of the NOAA Consolidated Back Up (CBU), also known as the Remote Back Up (RBU), located at Fairmont, WV. The CBU functions as a completely independent backup for the MM and selected PG and PD functions to produce KPPs and GOES Rebroadcast (GRB) data and is capable of concurrent and remote operations from NSOF and WCDAS. The CBU also has three 16.4-meter antennas with visibility to all operational and on-orbit spare satellites.

There are two Operational Support locations (OSLs). OSL1 is located at the Sustainment Contractor factory facility and supports system sustainment and maintenance across all GS environments. OSL2 is in College Park, MD at the NOAA Center for Weather and Climate Prediction (NCWCP) and provides access to the product processing functions at NSOF. The OSLs provide additional GS operator workstation positions and WAN connectivity to the GS to support GS functions such as testing and deploying updates to the field, troubleshooting and problem resolution, and system monitoring. OSLs contain no servers hosting operational functions such as satellite command and control.

In addition to the on-premises locations, the GEO Ground System also includes an AWS-hosted Cloud instance called GeoCloud. The GeoCloud currently provides casual (non-mission-critical) access to GOES-R products and file services for GOES mission partners.

The GEO Ground System also hosts the SWFO-L1 mission Command and Control (C2) system software on a shared infrastructure. The SWFO-L1 software is hosted in separate virtual machines on the GEO Ground System infrastructure and data flows unique to SWFO-L1 are logically separated in the shared network. The GEO Ground System also interfaces to the SWFO Antenna Network (SAN) which encompasses SWFO antennas, as well as front end processors (FEPs), also called Space to Ground Communications (SGC). The SAN is inside the NOAA5050 boundary and the security services extend into the SAN element to provide a common security infrastructure.

Figure 4 shows the current high-level overview of the GOES-R GS, the deployed locations, and primary interfaces. More detail can be found in the attached TO-20 Wall Chart (Attachment 1.A).

Figure 4 GEO Ground System Overview

Figure 5 gives a “by the numbers” view of the scope of the GEO Ground System.

Figure 5 GOES-R Ground System By the Numbers

Operations and Maintenance of the GEO Ground System are carried out by the NOAA Office of Satellite and Product Operations (OSPO). Sustainment of the GEO Ground System is the responsibility of the GEO Ground Project and is supported by L3Harris under a five-year IDIQ contract. The follow-on sustainment contract is anticipated to be awarded in FY2028.

The applicable definitions of Operations, Maintenance, and Sustainment are:

Operations: Operations activities and functions are performed to ensure the efficient and effective command and control of satellites and selected reference climate networks, data acquisition from a spectrum of observing and computational systems, product generation, archive, product distribution, and the execution of broadcast services. Operations are often supported on a 24 hour x 7 days x 365 days per year basis with defined remote backup and contingency capabilities that ensure the high availability and reliability of products and services.

Maintenance: Maintenance activities are performed to ensure the continued operation of any system. Maintenance ensures that the overall system continues to meet scientific, technical, functional, and performance requirements in addition to availability and reliability requirements.

Maintenance ensures the appropriate security posture for the system.

Sustainment: Sustainment activities are pre-planned activities performed to develop, modernize or enhance components of the system, including addressing obsolescence. Sustainment is conducted to extend the life of the GS and improve its capabilities, reliability and robustness, leverage technology advancements, or reduce life-cycle costs.

Table 1 lists key organizations and stakeholders in the GEO Ground System.

Organization Interest in GEO Ground System

GEO Ground Project (GP) Management Office Procure, develop, transition, and sustain ground system capability for GOES-R and GeoXO satellites as well as provide infrastructure, platform, and security services for SW missions. Procuring funding and managing budget to provide required capabilities.

Operational Data Users (National Weather Service, Department of Defense, for example)

Require timely, reliable access to weather observation data and weather products (provided by PDA today but will be provided by NESDIS Common Cloud Framework (NCCF) in the GeoXO timeframe)

Retrospective Data Users (universities, scientists, developers, etc.)

Require access to archived data (provided through OCS legacy and cloud capabilities)

Auxiliary Comm Service Users – “Bent Pipe” users – Data Collection System, (HRIT/EMWIN and SARSAT for GOES-R but not GeoXO)

Transmission of OSPO-developed commands to DCS and reception of uplinked data. Low stakes in ground for other Auxiliary Comm Users

Mission Operations Support Team (MOST) Operates GS to perform launch, orbit raising and post-launch testing and continued operations of satellites until handover to Office of Satellite and Product Operations (OSPO).

Product Readiness and Operations (PRO) Team Access to data, products, and platform for deploying, testing and operationalizing algorithms. Verifying that products meet quality, refresh and latency requirements.

Instrument Vendors Access to instrument initialization, calibration, and operational data through GEO Ground System.

Calibration/Validation Working Group Access to data and products for calibrating instrument and validating products generated.

Algorithm Working Group Access to data for algorithm development, test and validation.

Ground Readiness Team Access to system and tools for testing and verifying readiness of ground system to support command, control, data distribution and product generation

Office of Satellite and Product Operations

(OSPO)

Operate ground system to perform O&M of satellites, GEO Ground System, and product generation (after development and transition efforts)

Office of Common Services (OCS) Public-facing access to weather observation products through current legacy systems and Cloud presence (archive, distribution, and access)

GOES-R Series/ GeoXO Flight Projects GS used to support pre-launch testing, launch and orbit raising and Command and Control (C2) of satellites and instruments

Organization Interest in GEO Ground System

Space Weather Office (SWO) Use and planned use of GEO Ground System as infrastructure to host SWO mission command, control and data distribution. Acquisition of funding and budget management for ground system elements supporting SWO missions.

NOAA/NESDIS Facilities Currently house GEO Ground System elements Table 1 Organizations and Stakeholders in the GEO Ground System

Interim GEO Ground System State – Post Data Operations Cloud Migration

Current GEO Ground System sustainment activities include migration of Data Operations (DO) and Mission Life Storage (MLS) data storage functions to a cloud-based implementation which enables a simplification of the on-premises solution, allowing the re-use of spares from elements replaced by cloud capability or no longer needed after the GOES-U launch. This will avoid the need for tech refresh of some portion of the existing on-premises system, while improving security, and facilitating scalability and extensibility. The schedule for the cloud migration is shown Figure 6. It is anticipated that the future GEO Ground System will include a cloud-based architecture where appropriate. The post Cloud Migration functions and data flow are represented by Figure 7.

Figure 6: Cloud Migration Roadmap

Definitions:

ADRS– Ancillary Data Review System;

AWIPS – Advanced Weather Interactive Processing

System;

GRB – GOES Rebroadcast;

I/F – Interface;

MLS – GOES Mission Life Storage;

NCCF – NESDIS Common Cloud Framework;

NWS – NOAA’s National Weather Service;

PDA – Product Distribution and Access

Figure 7 illustrates the current GEO Ground System data distribution system with more detail available in the attached GEO Cloud Wall Chart (Attachment 1.B.).

Figure 7 Cloud-Based GEO Ground System Data Distribution

The Future of GEO Ground System – Overview

This future of GEO Ground System should enable continuing multi-mission support while streamlining maintenance, sustainment, and operations. As a multi-mission ground system, the GEO Ground System will continue supporting the current GOES-R series satellites, SWFO-L1, the future GeoXO missions, and possible additional Space Weather Office (SWO) missions such as Space Weather Next (SWNext).

The main functional differences between the GeoXO and GOES-R missions that must be considered for the GEO Ground System evolution are:

Addition of a third operational satellite (Center) between the existing East and West operational locations. The constellation will eventually include operational and spare satellites for each position.

Evolution to 8x5 operations support.

Retirement of current spacecraft at end of life, with corresponding removal of their footprint from GEO Ground System.

Data Operations, including L2+ processing, migrated to the NCCF for GeoXO.

L1b products generated from new instruments including Hyperspectral IR Sounder, Ocean

Color Instrument and Atmospheric Composition Instrument and a potential Partner Payload.

New ground processing algorithms for the new instruments.

Ground processing of GXI data will include the rapid computation and uplink of a cloud cover mask or scan pattern based on the cloud mask to the instruments to optimize scan patterns.

The received information data rate is ~3 times greater for GeoXO than GOES-R with a bandwidth 2 – 3 times greater for GeoXO than GOES-R.

The product volume for the GeoXO instruments is projected as three to four times greater for GeoXO than for GOES-R.

Other than the Data Collection System, supporting auxiliary comm systems are not in the scope of the GeoXO spacecraft and ground and are being supported via cloud and commercial comm service dissemination outside the scope of the GEO Ground System. DCS will be supported as currently supported on GOES-R.

Additional antennas to support missions will be added as needed either as an Enterprise Service or separate acquisition and do not need to be considered as part of this effort.

Assume that antenna interface, including remote status and control will be described as part of an interface or service specification.

The evolved GEO Ground System should support maintenance and updated deployments without impacting an entire on-premises site.

NESDIS enterprise ground services will be used as they become available. The evolved architecture should support integrating those services when they are provided while minimizing the perturbation to the remainder of the Ground System.

KEY FUNCTIONS OF THE GEO GROUND SYSTEM

The current GEO Ground System (GS) comprises four functional categories: Mission Management (MM), Product Generation (PG), Product Distribution (PD), and Enterprise Management (EM). These categories have been defined as a basis for grouping functional attributes of the Ground System and are not necessarily intended to specify an implementation of the system. Additional interface and support functions are included within the Ground System.

The Ground System elements encompass the hardware/software systems and set of processes to accomplish mission operations. The following sections describe the operational elements of the Ground System functional architecture.

Enterprise Management (EM)

EM supports all operational functions by managing the resources that comprise the operational systems and networks for the GEO Ground System. In the EM context, supervision is defined as the ability to monitor, report, and provide capability for an operator response to anomalous conditions. EM functions underpin the infrastructure that enables the MM and DO functions and supports automation. While direct control of various systems may be implemented within the individual elements, EM provides a high-level layer of supervision over the end-to-end Ground System. Ground System operators at all sites have access to the EM functionality for insight into their local site and into the distributed Ground System components, infrastructure, and interfaces.

As the EM functionality receives status and other information provided by the distributed

Ground System functions, operators are able to monitor, trend, and perform other supervisory activities. Some specific functions and capabilities of EM are:

Monitor and report the end-to-end status and performance of all Ground System elements (hardware and software), networks, communication links and antennae operations.

Provide real time textual and graphical display of system performance and status.

Allow the status of the entire Ground System to be continuously available for monitoring from any site.

Supervise all Ground System networks and interfaces to external systems, including product distribution.

Provide support to network and system performance metering.

Supervise all primary and backup site functions.

Supervise all hardware and software configurations associated with the Ground System networks.

Supervise the configuration of all support and test networks.

Provide an interface to incident reporting and status (e.g., service desk and trouble-tickets)

Supervise IT enterprise security.

Enable remote access to satellite and product performance data.

The EM function is a primary tool of real time operators and engineers to provide greater operational availability, efficiency, and safety of the GOES-R system.

Mission Management

MM encompasses all operational functions of the spacecraft and instruments. These functions include:

Space-Ground Communications (SGC)

(uplink & downlink), including GOES- Rebroadcast (GRB) relay.

Command generation and telemetry data processing.

Raw (instrument) data processing through Level 0.

Mission operations (includes real-time console operations, offline engineering and trending, bus and instrument health and safety and performance monitoring, anomaly detection & resolution, procedure development, spacecraft resource accounting, special operations planning & execution).

Unique payload services and GRB monitoring.

Mission scheduling and planning.

Orbit determination and maneuver planning

(including co-location and collision avoidance maneuvers).

Flight Software (FSW) management.

Routine instrument calibration support and

Product Monitoring.

Instrument raw data temporary storage.

Spacecraft telemetry data archive and remote access to telemetry.

Conformity to NASA Procedural

Requirements for Limiting Orbital Debris

(NPR 8715.6).

Product Generation (part of Data Operations)

The PG function creates Level 1b and Level 2+ products for the full GOES-R core product set.

Product Generation operates on a continuous basis, meeting latency and availability requirements. PG also creates the GRB data set for transmission to GOES-West and GOES-East for rebroadcast via the satellite to direct readout users and for transmission via terrestrial comm to the NSOF for the generation of the L2+ data products. Product Generation for instruments includes the following functions:

Produce Level 1b products from Level 0 data.

Perform radiometric calibration and geometric correction.

Maintain calibration database.

Generate L2+ products from algorithms and ancillary data.

Assemble GRB data sets, from Level 1b products, for rebroadcast and terrestrial transmission.

Monitor radiometric and Image Navigation and Registration (INR) performance.

Maintain the Product Generation test capability for product verification and validation and algorithm testing.

Product Distribution (part of Data Operations)

The Product Distribution (PD) function provides distribution of Level 0, Level 1b, GRB, Level 2+, and associated mission data produced by PG. The consumers of this mission data includes the National Weather Service’s Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC), the NWS Advanced Weather Interactive Processing System (AWIPS), the NESDIS Common Cloud Framework (NCCF), and NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI). The GOES-R satellite L0 data are made available at WCDAS via the GeoProduct Access System (GPAS). GPAS is a repository that temporarily stores and provides access to all product data. L0 data that Ground System PD sends to the GPAS are kept in the same format (i.e., file type, naming convention, etc.) as the delivery mechanism from the Core.

PD functionality spans each of the three ground segment locations. The PD includes the following functions:

Send data and products received from PG to the AWIPS interface.

Send data and products received from PG to the Product Distribution and Access (PDA) entity.

Make available data and products through the PDA for authorized users.

Store 5 days of data and products after product generation for redistribution Distribute the GRB data stream to MM for RF transmission.

Distribute the GRB data stream by Wide Area Network (WAN) between Ground System sites.

Send Level 1b and L2+ products, ancillary data, and associated metadata to PDA, which then distributes the data to users through a portal, and to CLASS for long-term storage and archiving.

PRELIMINARY SYSTEM CHARACTERISTICS APPLICABLE TO

FUTURE GEO GROUND SYSTEM

Some of the characteristics that GEO Ground System PMO is considering for the future GEO Ground System include, but are not limited to: Operability, Maintainability, Sustainability, Agility/Scalability, Automatability, and Security. They are described in detail below.

Operability

High level of O&M staffing efficiency Enable new uses of automation Reduced complexity and increased commonality where useful for cross-mission capabilities.

The GEO Ground System needs to be backwards compatible to support the heritage GOES-R satellites, SWFO-L1 satellite as well as supporting GeoXO and other possible new missions.

The future GEO Ground System Architecture should maximize segregation between data operations and mission operations.

Antenna use and operations in the future GEO Ground System will not be constrained by the physical locations of the antennas.

All components selected for inclusion in the future GEO Ground System must be at least

Technology Readiness Level six (TRL6), as defined by NASA 7123, at time of selection or a plan must be in place to achieve TRL6 before the decision is finalized. By the time of the first GeoXO launch (2032) all components utilized within the GEO Ground System must be at least TRL8.

Cloud services in the future GEO Ground System must be compatible with Amazon Web Services (AWS).

Maintainability

Minimized hands-on maintenance tail.

Ability to perform maintenance without failing over full strings or sites.

Automated alerting and diagnostics where possible.

Minimize contractor lock in.

Sustainability

Facilitates new technology insertion while minimizing system perturbations / redesign (reduced complexity).

Use of integration standards to enable replacement of component parts or software without redesign of system or interfaces.

Move of data access for non-time-critical users to enterprise archive access.

The future GEO Ground System should maximize the use of non-proprietary, standardized interfaces for integration.

Agility/Scalability

Ability to incorporate changes at the necessary rate of change to meet emerging requirements and IT security threats.

Services in the future GEO Ground System will be as modular and decoupled as possible.

Automatability

Automated data flow between functional elements within the system as well as automation of those functional elements.

Automated system status reporting and correction (automated failover where possible).

Automated startup and shutdown of applications and processes.

Tools and practices to automate testing and deployment of updates.

IT Security Posture

Enable Rapid Patching cadence Response to emerging threats and technologies The future GEO Ground System will need to implement zero trust architecture.

Cloud portion of future GEO Ground System will implement using Fed RAMP High approved cloud functions that enable full functionality in a Gov Cloud High environment.

The future GEO Ground System design should minimize the number of external access points into critical areas of the system.

ATTACHMENTS & REFERENCES

Attachment 1.A. - GSDD_TO-20_CGS_Wall_Chart – this wall chart is referenced in Figure 4 and provides more details.

Attachment 1.B. - GEO Cloud Wall Chart 20240826 – this wall chart is comparable to Figure 7 and provides more details

References

Information about the NOAA, including the latest Strategic Plan, can be found on the noaa.gov website under https://www.noaa.gov/about-our-agency

Information about the NESDIS can be found under https://www.nesdis.noaa.gov/

Information about the current GEO Mission can be found under https://www.goes-r.gov/

Information about the current GeoXO Mission can be found under https://www.nesdis.noaa.gov/our-satellites/future-programs/geoxo/geoxo-spacecraft-instruments

Information about the Space Weather Follow-On Program can be found under https://www.nesdis.noaa.gov/our-satellites/future-programs/space-weather-follow-program