WEATHER SATELLITES
================
APT, DIGITAL and GEOSTATIONARY WEEKLY STATUS.
==========================================

Author : Douglas S Deans. dsdeans@...
Sections 1, 2 and 4 have updates.

SECTION 1: POLAR APT/LRPT REPORT -- 25th February 2008
==============================================

Satellite Frequency (MHz) Status Image Quality

NOAA 15 137.500 (APT) on good
NOAA 17 137.620 (APT) on good
NOAA 18 137.100 (APT) on good
Metop-A 137.100 (LRPT) off see Note 3

CHANGES SINCE LAST REPORT.
Note 1 updated.

THIS WEEK'S POSSIBLE EVENTS.
None expected.

NOTES.

1. Three of the older NOAA weather satellites which have been
decommissioned and are tumbling freely are know to sporadically put out
a carrier on 137.500 MHz. The satellites are TIROS-N, NOAA 6 and NOAA 9
When the relevant footprints overlap this will cause interference to
NOAA 15 when active on this frequency.
Latest report below.
25/02/08 - There is some recent evidence that NOAA 9 is once again
transmitting a spurious carrier from time to time. (I am grateful to
Mike Piper from Oregon for this report).

2. NOAA 16's APT transmission system failed a few months after launch.

3. Metop-A's A-side LRPT transmitter has failed. Currently the redundant
B-side transmitter is off until further notice (No further service
expected due to interference with HIRS instrument).

4. NOAA 14 was decommissioned on 23rd May 2007.

5. NOAA 12 was decommissioned on 10th August 2007.

6. Elements are available from :-

http://www.space-track.org and
http://celestrak.com/NORAD/elements/

LAUNCHES.
NOAA N' launch.....February 2009.

Douglas Deans.
Dunblane, Scotland.


SECTION 2: POLAR HRPT/AHRPT REPORT -- 25th February 2008
================================================

CHANGES SINCE LAST REPORT.
None.

THIS WEEK'S POSSIBLE EVENTS.
NOAA 17 and 18 Frequency/antenna/mode changes from 26th February (now listed
below).

Satellite Frequency Antenna Mode Image Quality
(MHz)
NOAA 15 1702.5 Omni HRPT Weak
NOAA 16 1702.5 LHCP HRPT Mixed ( note 3)
NOAA 17 1698.0 RHCP HRPT Not yet known
NOAA 18 1707.0 RHCP HRPT Not yet known
Feng Yun 1D 1700.4 RHCP CHRPT Good
Metop-A 1701.3 RHCP AHRPT off (note 4)


NOTES.

1. NOAA 14 was decommissioned on 23rd June 2007.

2. NOAA 12 was decommissioned on 10th August 2007.

3. On Friday 19th September 2003 NOAA 16 developed AVHRR synch. problems
similar to those on NOAA 14 (and previously NOAA 15).
Since then reports have been mixed. Some periods of good data, some
poor.
UPDATE: Scan motor performance has recently improved.

4. Due to a transmitter failure the AHRPT direct readout service is
off until further notice ( this also includes ATOVS etc.).

LAUNCHES.
NOAA N' launch.....February 2009.
Feng Yun 3 .... May 2008 (thanks to Dale Hardy for this information)

Douglas Deans.


SECTION 3: CONTINENTAL GEOSTATIONARY WORLD
===========================================
WEATHER SATELLITE REPORT -- 25th February 2008
=======================================

CHANGES SINCE LAST REPORT.
None.

THIS WEEK'S POSSIBLE EVENTS.
None.

Europe & Africa
------------------
Satellite : Meteosat 8 (3.5° W)
Data : HRIT (digital) and LRIT (digital)
Operational : No. Standby for Meteosat 9.

Satellite : Meteosat 9 (0°) (note 7).
Data : HRIT (digital) and LRIT (digital)
Operational : 11th April 2007............

North America
----------------
East.

Satellite : GOES 12 (75.0° W)
Data : GVAR (digital) - 1685.7 MHz
LRIT (digital) -1691 MHz
Operational : Present .......

West.

Satellite : GOES 11 (135°W)
Data : GVAR (digital) - 1685.7 MHz
LRIT (digital) - 1691 MHz
Operational : Yes

South America
----------------
Satellite : GOES 10 (60°W)
GVAR (digital) - 1685.7 MHz
LRIT (digital) - 1691 MHz.

Asia (Russian Operated Satellite)
--------------------------------------

Satellite : GOMS N2 / ELECTRO-L
Data : HRIT/LRIT.
Operational : Launch date unknown.

Asia (European Operated Satellites)
----------------------------------------
Satellite : Meteosat 7 (57.5°E)
HRI (digital) - 1691 MHz
Wefax (analogue) occasionally for ranging purposes
only.
Operational : 17th October 2006.
Note : Due to Meteosat-7 eclipse season between 15/02/08 and
02/04/08 slots 39 to 43 may not be available.

Satellite : Meteosat 6 (67.5°E) (Note 2).

Asia (Indian Operated Satellite)
-----------------------------------
Satellite : Metsat
Data : None available.
Operational : Present....

Satellite : Insat 3A (Note 3.)
Data : VHRR (digital) 2599 MHz
Operational : Present ............


Asia & Oceania (Japanese Operated Satellites)
-----------------------------------------------------
Satellite : MTSAT-1R (140° E) (note 5.)
Data : HiRID and HRIT (digital) and
Wefax(analogue)/LRIT(digital) shared on 1691 MHz.
(Note 6.)
Operational : Present......


Asia & Oceania (Chinese Operated Satellites)
----------------------------------------------------
Satellite : Feng Yun 2C (105°E)
Data : SVISSR (digital) and LRIT (digital)
Operational : Present.............

Satellite : Feng Yun 2D (86.5°E).
Data : SVISSR (digital) and LRIT (digital)
Operational : Yes. Parallel operation with 2C.
(My thanks to Johnny Lin for the update).

NOTES.

1. Meteosat 7 stopped its 0° service at 09.00 UTC on 14th June 2006.

2. Meteosat-6 arrived on station at 67.5 degrees East, on the 27 April 2007.
After a short testing campaign, Meteosat-6 is now supporting the DCP
mission over the Indian Ocean during eclipse periods.

3. Insat 3A is a combined data and meteorological satellite.

4. For those interested in EMWIN data, the following sats/frequencies apply.

GOES 7 (175 W) 1690.725 MHz.
GOES 11 (135 W) 1690.725 MHz
GOES 12 (74.5 W) 1690.725 MHz
For further info. there are many sources but the following is
particularly informative:-
http://iwin.nws.noaa.gov/emwin/user-intro.htm

5. This satellite is also known as HIMAWARI 6.

6. HiRID and WEFAX to be discontinued on 12th March 2008. (Thanks to Dale
Hardy for information). It will be replaced with HRIT/LRIT (also
currently available).

7. Only LRIT (1691.0 MHz) is provided in direct readout.
Full HRIT and LRIT service from Eumetcast.

Any reports for this section should be sent to :-
Douglas Deans dsdeans@...


SECTION 4: EUMETCAST REPORT -- 25th February 2008
=========================================

Service Status Hotbird Satellite (13° E)

EARS On Transponder 117: 10853.44 MHz
Meteosat 8 (RS) Off Transponder 117: 10853.44 MHz
Meteosat 9 On Transponder 117: 10853.44 MHz
DWDSAT On Transponder 117: 10853.44 MHz
EPS(Metop-A) On Transponder 117: 10853.44 MHz

CHANGES SINCE LAST REPORT.
General Notes updated.
Metop-A Note updated.

THIS WEEK AND FUTURE POSSIBLE EVENTS.
General Notes and Advanced Notice.
Due to sun co-linearity between 26/02/08 and 05/03/08 there is a risk of
interruption to all EUMETCast services between 11:15 and 15:00 UTC.

The trial dissemination of the Clear Sky Radiances (CSR) product via
EUMETCast commenced today, 21/02/08.
The trial is expected to run until 18/03/08. For more info see:
http://www.eumetsat.int/Home/Main/Media/News/031606?l=en
(Editor's Note : The data is hourly and of BUFR format. Currently only
available to Manufacturers and Professionals).

EUMETSAT plans to complete the validation of the MSG Level 1.5 image product
radiance definition change by April 2008, and assuming successful, the
product will be made fully operational then.
For more information and a detailed schedule please see:
http://www.eumetsat.int/home/Main/Access_to_Data/index.htm?l=en

On 04/03/08 at 09:00 UTC there will be changes to the MTSAT-1R Foreign
Satellite Data. As a result of these changes there will be an outage of
MTSAT-1R data on 04/03/08 from 07:00 to 08:45 UTC.
For more information please see:
http://www.eumetsat.int/Home/Main/Media/News/031460?l=en

FSD.
Due to GOES12_75W eclipse from 15/02/08 to 29/04/08 the 05:00 and 06:00 UTC
files may not be available.
Due to GOES11_135W eclipse from 12/02/08 to 27/04/08 the 09:00 and 10:00 UTC
files may not be available.
Due to MTSAT-1R_140E eclipse from 16/02/08 to 20/04/08 the 14:00 and
15:00UTC files may not be available.

IODC.
Due to Meteosat-7 eclipse season between 15/02/08 and 02/04/08 slots 39 to
43 may not be available.
Due to sun co-linearity between 18/02/07 and 26/02/07, the 07:58 AW format
may not be available.

Metop-A.
Extensive ASCAT transponder cross-calibration between 29-Feb-08 and
29-Mar-08.
Short interruptions in ASCAT level 1b and level 2 data may occur on:

Date Orbit Time
29-Feb-08 7070 08:24
29-Feb-08 7076 18:05
01-Mar-08 7084 08:03
01-Mar-08 7091 19:25
02-Mar-08 7105 19:04

The following EPS GDS products are available on Eumetcast. Some are now
classed as operational, some still on a trial basis.

EPS-2 Metop AMSA operational
EPS-3 Metop ASCAT trial
EPS-5 Metop GOME trial
EPS-6 Metop GRAS trial
EPS-7 Metop HIRS operational
EPS-8 Metop MHS operational
EPS-10 Metop AVHRR operational
EPS-11 Metop IASI operational
EPS-13 NOAA AMSA operational
EPS-15 NOAA GAC operational
EPS-16 NOAA HIRS operational
EPS-17 NOAA MHS operational

Any reports for this section should be sent to :-
Douglas Deans dsdeans@...

NOTES.

1. For further information on the Eumetcast service see :-
David Taylor's web site
http://www.satsignal.eu => Weather Satellites, Using EUMETCast
or Satellite Tools, MSG Data
Manager.
or the Eumetsat web site
www.eumetsat.int

GENERAL
=======
For further weather satellite related information join GEO, Group for Earth
Observation, and receive the informative quarterly magazine. See :-
http://www.geo-web.org.uk/

To download element sets for all satellites visit the following sites :

http://www.space-track.org and
http://celestrak.com/NORAD/elements/