PORTABLE METEOROLOGICAL DIGITAL DOWNLINK TERMINAL

A SYSTEM DESIGN IS PROPOSED FOR A LOW COST MAN-PORTABLE SATELLITE DIRECT DOWNLINK TERMINAL TO RECEIVE DIGITAL TRANSMISSIONS FROM TIROS-N, GOES, METEOSAT AND DMSP WEATHER SATELLITES. KEY AREAS OF ENABLING TECHNOLOGY ARE IDENTIFIED AND DISCUSSED. IN PHASE I, ASDC WILL DEVELOP AND BREADBOARD SUFFICIENT HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE TO DEMONSTRATE A WORKING PROOF OF CONCEPT SYSTEM. SPECIFICATIONS AND HARDWARE DEVELOPMENT REQUIRED FOR A FULL PHASE II PROTOTYPE WILL BE DETAILED IN THE FINAL REPORT. THIS TERMINAL WILL PERMIT DIRECT FIELD RECEPTION OF HIGH RESOLUTION DIGITAL IMAGE DATA FROM WEATHER SATELLITES. THE METEOROLOGICAL UTILITY OF THE DATA WILL BE ENHANCED FOR MILITARY AND CIVILIAN APPLICATIONS BY MORE TIMELY AVAILABILITY AND DIRECT USER ACCESS TO FULL DATA SETS.