OSO Mission
Direct the operation and maintenance of NOAA and non-
NOAA environmental satellites and their associated ground
systems. Provide the highest quality data and timely
dissemination to our domestic and global customers.
3 Divisions
Satellite Operations Control Center (SOCC) – Suitland, MD
Wallops Command and Data Acquisition Station (WCDA) – Wallops Island, VA
Fairbanks Command and Data Acquisition Station (FCDA) – Fairbanks, AK
Organizational Makeup
• SOCC Civil Servants: 110FTEs
– SOCC Admin Staff: 3 FTEs
– Control Branch: 56 FTEs
– Support Branch: 22 FTEs
– Software Branch: 13 FTEs
– Engineering Branch: 16 FTEs
• SOCC Contractors
– EMOSS: 27 FTEs
– PSS: 16 FTEs
– LINTRAX: 2 FTEs
Office of Satellite Operations
Kathy Kelly
Director
Cheryl Johnson
Secretary
Keith Amburgey Chris Beaverson Linda Brown
Deputy Director Ast. to the Director Admin Officer
Julie Bryant
Kathy Benfield Bruce Plott
Budget Analyst IT Specialist
Lance Seman Ron Mahmot
Roxie Brown-Jenkins Doug Crawford
Manager, Fairbanks Karen Flerlage
SOCC Manager Teela Norris Manager, Wallops
Prog. Supt. Spec. Admin. Supt. Ast.
Larry Ledlow
Senior Systems Rhonda Paluba
Steve Schaffer Walt Schleicher Alva Barnette Cindy Hampton
Engineer
Chief, Control Acting Chief, Chief, Software Chief, Engineering Prog. Supt. Spec
Branch Support Branch Branch Branch Alisa Smith
Russ Worman Secretary
IT Security Officer Aerospace Corp. Lockheed-Martin
ASRC Aerospace Corp. Northrop-Grumman
Boeing RG II Technologies
Ruby Cubano Bonny Pagel Computer Science Corp. SMI Internaitional
Purchasing Agent Prog. Supt. Spec. Honeywell SGT Inc.
Integral Systems Inc.
Greg Grajew
Mgr, Aleut Global Solutions
Al McMath Gordon Chancey John Clark
LEGEND Chief, Operations Chief, Sys Support Manager, SP&D
Branch Branch
Government Employees Government Employees
Suitland, MD Wallops, VA
Vacant Facilities Sect. Vacant
Government Employees Contractor Employees Chief, Supt Services Gregg Frostrom Chief, Logistics
Fairbanks, AK Section Power Support Sys. Sup. Section
Operational Interactions
Support
Engineering
-Build/Generate schedules
-Real-time operations support
-Validate schedules
-Performance assessment
-Distribute schedules
-Anomaly response and analysis
-Gather scheduling requirements from
-Scheduling requirements definition
product users and engineering
-Operations requirements definition
-Distribute weekly events
-Procedure and script development
-Documentation CM
-Ground system engineering
-Comm and hardware support
-Simulator and FSW oversight
-Safety
-Documentation/database CM support
-Security
-Training support
-Training
-Data archiving
- Facilities
Mission
Operations
Software Control
-Maintain operational s/w systems -Real-time operations/monitoring
-Support new system development -Real-time data collection
and testing -Oversight of all commanding
-Integrate and test s/w updates -Update/validate daily schedules
-Assist regression and parallel testing -Schedule review/execution
-Update documentation -Generate INR products
-Contingency support -Implement INR reactive Sets
-Software archiving -Operate backup systems
-Configuration Management -Contingency response
Control Branch
Steve Schaffer
Branch Chief
Joe Perez
Shift Supervisor
John Loving Lindsey Williams Leon Ellison Ron Rademacher
Shift Supervisor Shift Supervisor Shift Supervisor Shift Supervisor
POES POES POES POES
Jimi Anzelc Phil Johnson Mike Jensen Tom Becker
Carol Wallace Phillis Bellamy Steve Wallace Jim Ballou
Mike O'Dell Steve Griffith Dennis Johnson Justin Couture
GOES GOES GOES Seth Celvestine
Stan Abney Tom Boyd Don Slack GOES
Jim Haughey Charlene Aperson Tyrone Williams Marshall Smyly
Rodney Ward Brenda Wilkins Daniel Moore Byron Grisham
Jeff Logan Aisha Ali Al Williams Christine Fenwick
DMSP DMSP Joe Royston Lou Hoff
Mike Warren Brenda Loblein DMSP DMSP
Russ Jacobs Rob Fleeman Chad Koenig Andy Adkins
Toni Bellamy Toby Hutchings Derrick Murray Ross Loblein
Steve Zegalia Kevin Dailey James Mussmann Todd Brooks
Charis Wilkinson Larry Mohler Arla Tillman Dave Eddy
Kelly McNeal
Engineering Branch
Cindy Hampton
Branch Chief
Thaddeus Johnson
Aerospace Engineer
DMSP Engineering GOES Engineering POES Engineering
Bob Finson Chris Wheeler Renee Smith Dearring
Team Lead Team Lead Team Lead
Brenda Cumbie Michael Downes Steve Grippando
OLS/Sensors Ground Systems Ground Systems
Manuel Valenzuela Sam Chen Dong Han
Ground Systems Image/Navigation Instruments
Chol Chang John Tsui Carl Gliniak
Spacecraft Bus /Launch Spacecraft Bus /Attitude Spacecraft Bus
Brian Walling Hyre Bysal
ADACS Instruments
Software Branch
Alva Barnette
Branch Chief
Polar Ground Systems GOES Ground Systems Networks System Administrator
Kim McCarty Diane Robinson Gary McBrien George Reedy
Technical Lead Team Lead
Jim Ray Greg Mundy
DMSP Alex Pozniak
Jing Han Manan Dalal
DMSP
Viha Nguyen
DMSP/MPSS
Sudhir Vyas
POES
Mike Baker
POES/SOMS
Support Branch
Walt Schleicher
Acting Branch Chief
GOES Scheduling POES Scheduling DMSP Scheduling Richard James Hardware Support
Kevin Ludlum Tom Snell Mike Tomlinson Documentation Bill Carter
Team Lead Team Lead Team Lead Craig Wade Herald Pearsall
Alita McKinley Keith Catalan Daniel Brown Communications
Oliver Hirschfeld Carol Rogers Carl Newlon Dennis Mailhot
Robert Roblin Ronald Penn Communications
Charles Fenno Gregg Parent
Training
Ken Haywood
GOES ISSO
Mary Glaser
Polar ISSO
Principles
• Routine operations are performed by using pre-
approved repeatable procedures
• Priority is given to maintaining satellite health &
safety, capturing & delivering all the data, providing
low risk and cost effective operations
• Operations Focus to the Government’s Role
– Branch Chiefs
– Shift Supervisors & Team Leads
– Technical Teams
– Admin Staff
Business Processes
• Budgeting
• Procurement
• Contract Management
• Configuration Management
• Document Management
• Workforce Management
Constellation Overview
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
manages a constellation of four geostationary and twelve polar
orbiting meteorological spacecraft. The spacecraft supported range
in age from less than 1 year to 18 years.
These satellites are distributed among three operational programs:
the Geostationary Operational environmental Satellite Program
(GOES), Polar Operational Environmental Satellite Program (POES)
and the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP). DMSP
satellites have been operated by NOAA in support of the U.S. Air
Force since 1997.
Satellite Operations
24-hour Operations for GOES and Polar Systems
• Functions include:
– Data Acquisition
– Spacecraft Navigation
– Spacecraft Commanding
– Health and Safety Monitoring
– Orbit Determination
– Onboard Tape Recorder Scheduling
– Anomaly Response/Resolution
– Trend Monitoring
Command and Data
Acquisition (CDA) Stations
• The CDA stations are
responsible for:
– Executing spacecraft
commands and schedules
– Acquiring, maintaining and
Wallops CDA Station
distributing a continuous flow
of meteorological satellite data
– Planning, designing and
implementing system
modifications
Fairbanks CDA Station
Managing the Nation’s Operational
Environmental Satellite Systems
Polar Orbiting Satellites Geostationary Satellites
Fairbanks, AK N
CDA Station
N
Wallops Island, VA
CDA Station Wallops Island, VA
CDA Station
Equator
Satellite
Equator Subpoint S
28.80
Orbit Path S Earth Rotation
Per Orbit
Orbit Plane
Rotates Eastward
10 Per Day
GOES Program Overview
• GOES satisfies national operational environmental requirements for
24-hour observation of weather and Earth’s environment
• To meet requirements, GOES continuously maintains operational
satellites at two locations (75 degrees West and 135 degrees West),
with an on-orbit spare ready in case of failure
GOES Geographic Coverage
GOES-11 GOES-12
1350 West 750 West
Geostationary Satellites
• Warnings to U.S. Public -- Detect, track and
characterize
– Hurricanes
– Severe or possibly tornadic storms
– Flash flood producing weather systems
• Imagery for weather forecasting
• Sea Surface Temperature monitoring
• Winds for aviation and NWS numerical
models
• Environmental data collection – platforms
including buoys, rain gauges
• Search and Rescue
Sounder
Imager Solar Sail
S-Band Transmit
Antenna
S-Band Receive Digital
Antenna Sun Sensor
Earth Sensor
UHF Transmit/
Receive Antenna
Dual Magnetometers
Telemetry &
Commanding
Antenna
X-Ray Sensor
Solar Array
Geostationary Operational
Trim Tab
Environmental Satellite
GOES 10 – 12 (I – M)
Geostationary Operational Dual Magnetometers
Environmental Satellite
GOES 13 – 14 (N – P)
Imager
Sounder
Star Trackers (3)
S-Band Antenna
S/L--Band Antennas
Solar X-Ray Imager
UHF Antenna
Solar Array
GOES
West
GOES System
GOES
East
Telemetry &
Commands
Raw Data
Processed Data
Data Collection
System
User Search & Rescue
Terminal
NSOF
Suitland, MD
Products to NWS
and other users Wallops, VA
Command & Data
Acquisition Station
GOES I-M Ground System
Processed (EMWIN, DCS, WEFAX) &
Instrument (GVAR) Data WWB
SOCC RCV NMC
System
ESPC
RPM GSS
Server NASCOM
SPS S Communication
Controller (2) 2 T-1s
FTS 2000 W
745 Mux 745 Mux 740Mux
3 T-1s
I Encrypters (2)
DOMSAT
Modem Modem Router T
56 kbps
back-up Periph C TCS 1
Wallops
CDAS OATS
H
2 T-1s Router / Periph
740 Mux 740 Mux
WBU Router R
TCS 2
2 T-1s O
745 Mux 745 Mux 740 Mux
U
DOMSAT TCS 3
Modem Modem TCS 4 T (DEV)
1.544 Mbps Periph
(GEAS) E
back-up
Fairbanks W/S (40) NASA Goddard
Comm SOCC PC GEASW/S R
CDAS
POES Satellites
POES Satellites provide continuous global environmental
observations in support of operational requirements for:
– Weather Forecasting and Space Environment
– Detection of significant environmental events
(e.g., fires, oil spills, volcanic eruptions)
– Measurement of climate variables
(e.g., atmospheric ozone)
– Ocean observations (e.g., sea surface
temperature)
– Collection of data from surface platforms
(e.g., buoys)
– Search and rescue
Solar Shield
SAR Receive
Antenna Polar-orbiting Operational
IMU AVHRR Environmental Satellite
Direction of Orbit (POES)
Batteries
ESA
HIRS
AMSU A1
Solar Array
UDA
SBUV
AMSU B AMSU A2
LEGEND
AMSU Advanced Microwave
Sounding Unit
AVHRR Advanced Very High
Resolution Radiometer
ESA Earth Sensor Assembly
HIRS High Resolution Infrared
Radiation Sounder
IMU Inertial Measurement Unit
SAR Search and Rescue
SBUV Solar Backscatter Ultraviolet
Sounding Spectral Radiometer
UDA Ultra High Frequency Data
Collection System Antenna
METOP (AM)
POES System
Communications POES (PM)
Satellite
Telemetry &
Commands
Stored Instrument
Data
Direct Broadcast
Instrument Data
Data Collection
System
Search & Rescue
User Terminal
Fairbanks, AK
Command & Data
Acquisition Station
Products to NWS NSOF
and other users Wallops, VA
Suitland, MD Command & Data
Acquisition Station
POES Ground System
ESPC
PDS
DOMSAT
Equipment
DOMSAT
Equipment P TCS 1 N
A I
S
FTS 2001 C
Mux Mux N
3 T-1s Comm
TCS 2
Controller S
Router I
Wallops O
Comm
CDAS V N
Controller TCS 3 E
L T
NPAS
A
Router
DOMSAT SOMS
Equipment N
Command
Encrypters
Mux FTS 2001 Mux
3 T-1s TTS
PACS
Dev
Dev PDS TCS
Fairbanks VLAN GSFC
SOCC
CDAS
DMSP Satellites
DMSP Satellites provide continuous global environmental observations in
support of Department of Defense authorized users.
– Weather Forecasting and Space Environment
– Land observations (e.g., soil moisture content,
snow cover)
– Ocean observations (e.g., sea surface
temperature, wave height, and ice cover)
– Nighttime imagery records the aurora, city
lights and fires
Defense Meteorological
SSM
Satellite Program
(DMSP)
SSIES
SSM/I
Celestial
Direction Sensor
of Orbit Solar Array
Sun Sensor
Sun
Shade
SSMT/1 & 2
Batteries
OLS GLOB LEGEND
GLOB Glare Obstructer
OLS Operational Linescan
Earth Sensor
System
Assembly
SSIES Special Sensor Ion Electron
Scintillation
SSM Magnetometer
SSM/I Special Sensor Microwave
Imager
SSMT Special Sensor Microwave
Transponder
DMSP
DMSP System DMSP
Communications
Satellite
Telemetry &
Commands
Stored Instrument
Data
Direct Broadcast
Instrument Data
Fairbanks, AK
Command & Data
Acquisition Station
NSOF
Air Force Satellite
Suitland, MD Control Station
User Terminal Air Force Weather Agency
DMSP Ground System D
E
D V
PATCH D
SCU Encrypters R
TCS
PANEL C A
I
AIU P L
A S E
DOMSAT TCS 1
Equipment I C A D T
DOMSAT Encrypters
Equipment K U I D H
Fairbanks
CDAS E K C E TCS 2
N S P E Fiber Optic P R
DOMSAT C A N N
Equipment TCS 3
SCU
S U T E (SW Dev)
AFSCN W C S Equinox T
Sites Dec Server
Switch
I H W
T I S
DOMSAT AFVSF
Node 1
Equipment C P T W
Link/2
Mux H A C Encrypters I
WANIU N H T
MPSS
AIU 1 E C
Node 3 NPAS
Link/2 AIU 2 L H
Mux
ESOC SOCC
Jason - 2
Ocean Surface Topography Mission (OTSM) Jason-2
− Joint NOAA, NASA, CNES, EUMETSAT effort
− Provides sea surface heights for determining ocean
circulation, climate change and sea-level rise
Advanced
Global Positioning Microwave
System Payload Radiometer (AMR)
Poseidon-3 Altimeter
Solar Array
Solar Array
Laser Retroreflector Doppler
Array (LRA) Orbitography and
Radio Positioning
Integrated by
Satellite (DORIS)
Jason-2 Ground System
LAN - A
J2SEQ 1 J2TCCS 1
MGMT-1 VLAN FW 1
J2SEQ 2 J2TCCS 2 J
GWSx-550-A P
L
LAN - B
GWSx-520 D
C E
DMZ-A
U
N M
NOAA Server 1 E
T
Wallops GWDMZ MGMT-2 VLAN W S
CDAS A A
NOAA Server 2 T
N
GWSx-5503 U
DMZ-B
S
LAN - C I
GWSx-520
N
NOAA Server 3 J2SEQ 3 J2TCCS 3 G
E
File Manager MGMT-3 VLAN FW 3 N
NOAA Server 3 J2SEQ 3 J2TCCS 3
Fairbanks
CDAS ESPC SOCC LAN - D
Command & Control System
Architecture Characteristics
• User Interface: Telemetry Display, command
interface, real-time plotting, trend analysis, scripts
• Front-end processing: Frame synchronization, red
solomon decoding, packet processing, recording
• Telemetry Decommutation
• Database
• Real-time events
• Archive
• Command management
In conclusion, a story…