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G4ROA  > WXSAT    16.02.09 10:40l 409 Lines 13966 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
BID : 5E1249G4ROA
Read: GUEST
Subj: WX Sat Status report 16/2
Path: IZ3LSV<IK2XDE<ON4HU<ON0BEL<GB7CIP<GB7COV<GB7COV
Sent: 090216/0824Z @:GB7COV.#29.GBR.EU #:58521 [Coventry] $:5E1249G4ROA
From: G4ROA@GB7COV.#29.GBR.EU
To  : WXSAT@WW


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

Author :   Douglas S Deans.    dsdeans@tiscali.co.uk
Section 4 has updates.

SECTION 1:   POLAR  APT/LRPT  REPORT --  16th February 2009
  =============================================

    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
  NOAA 19          137.9125(APT)           on         see Note 6
  Metop-A           137.100 (LRPT)         off          see Note 3

CHANGES SINCE LAST REPORT.
None.

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.
    22/07/08 - There is some recent evidence that NOAA 9 is once again
    transmitting a spurious carrier from time to time. (I am grateful to
    John Cooper from Oxford 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. For several weeks the APT will carry 2 visible images (channels 1 and
     2).  The infra-red system requires out-gassing before being switched
     on and is the reason for the delay (usually about 2/3 weeks) in its
     operation.  My understanding is that the outgassing prevents
     precipitation (and contamination) when the coolers are switched on.
    Thereafter the APT format should follow the norm of Channel 2
(visible)
    and channel 4 (IR) during daylight passes, switching automatically
    to channels 3 (3A) and 4 during darkness.

7. Elements are available from :-

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

LAUNCHES.
None due.


SECTION 2:   POLAR  HRPT/AHRPT  REPORT -- 16th February 2009
   ===============================================

CHANGES SINCE LAST REPORT.
None.

THIS WEEK'S POSSIBLE EVENTS.
None expected.

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               Good
NOAA 18        1707.0       RHCP       HRPT               Good
NOAA 19        1698.0       RHCP       HRPT           See note 6.
Feng Yun 1D   1700.4       RHCP       CHRPT             Good
Feng Yun 3A        see note 5
Metop-A         1701.3       RHCP       AHRPT        Good (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. On 29 September 2008, EUMETSAT commenced a partial Metop-A AHRPT
   Direct Readout service. Due to the operational constraints, the
   activation of AHRPT is for a limited geographical region covering
   the North Atlantic and European area (southbound passes only).  This
   service is being introduced for a trial period of up to  2 months,
   following which the activation scenario will become operational. For
   further details on this service see:
   http://www.eumetsat.int/Home/Main/Access_to_Data/Metop__amp__NOAA_Servic
es/SP_1117714487826?l=en

5. Feng Yun 3A was declared operational on 12th January 2009.  My thanks
to
  Johnny Lin for drawing this to my attention.
  I am also grateful to Dave Wright of Dartcom for confirming that
  unfortunately (as usual) the Chinese have not strictly complied with the
  CGMS AHRPT Global Standard so reception using a standard MetOp AHRPT
  receiver is not possible.

6. For several weeks only visible imagery will be available.
   The infra-red system requires out-gassing before being switched
   on and is the reason for the delay (usually about 2/3 weeks) in its
   operation.  My understanding is that the outgassing prevents
   precipitation (and contamination) when the coolers are switched on.
   Please also note that during commissioning the HRPT frequency and
antenna
   selection is likely to change with possible drastic results in
reception
   (omni and LHCP antennas etc.).

LAUNCHES.
None due.


SECTION 3:   CONTINENTAL  GEOSTATIONARY  WORLD
  ===========================================
   WEATHER  SATELLITE  REPORT  -- 16th February 2009
     =======================================

CHANGES SINCE LAST REPORT.
None.

THIS WEEK'S POSSIBLE EVENTS.
None.

Europe & Africa
------------------
Satellite :        Meteosat 8 (9.5°E)
Data :             HRIT (digital) and LRIT (digital)
Operational :  Yes, RSS and Standby for Meteosat 9.

Satellite :        Meteosat 9 (0°) (note 7).
Data :             HRIT (digital) and LRIT (digital)
Operational :   Yes

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

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

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 :  Yes.

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 :   Yes.


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


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

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).

Satellite:           Feng Yun 2E (123.3° E)
Data :              SVISSR (digital) and LRIT (digital)
Operational :    No.   Commissioning.

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 was discontinued on 12th March 2008.  It was replaced
   with HRIT/LRIT (after many months of dual dissemination).

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

LAUNCHES.
None expected.


SECTION 4:   EUMETCAST  REPORT  -- 16th February 2009
  =========================================

       Service             Status            Eurobird 9 Satellite (9° E)

    EARS                   On          Transponder TP63: 11976.82 MHz
    Meteosat 8 (RSS)  On          Transponder TP63: 11976.82 MHz
    Meteosat 9            On          Transponder  TP63: 11976.82 MHz
    DWDSAT            On           Transponder TP63: 11976.82 MHz
    EPS(Metop-A)     On           Transponder  TP63: 11976.82 MHz

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

THIS WEEK AND  FUTURE  POSSIBLE  EVENTS.
General Note.
EUMETSAT would like to inform users that the CMA will be changing the
filename extension of all CMA products disseminated via EUMETCast. From
08:00 UTC on 16/02/09, all CMA products will end with the ".gz" extension
(replacing the old ".Z" extension) to match the convention of naming
gzipped
files with the ".gz" extension.
Old name:
Z_SATE_C_BABJ_20090206120000_O_FY2C_FDI_IR1_001_NOM.HDF.Z
New name:
Z_SATE_C_BABJ_20090206120000_O_FY2C_FDI_IR1_001_NOM.HDF.gz

Due to essential maintenance on 19/02/09 at 08:30 UTC, there will be a 2
hour interruption of the Meteosat-7 Meteorological product generation
followed by a high risk period of 4  hours.
Please note, there will be a change to the MPE product.
For details please see:  http://www.eumetsat.int/Home/Main/Media/News/70896
1

Future Event.
Changes to Archive delivery media:  the EUMETSAT Archive will introduce
LTO-4 tapes as a delivery medium in early 2009.
The following delivery media will be phased out:
- DDS4 and DAT-72 tapes - end January 2009.
- DDS2 tapes - end June 2009.
If users have any queries regarding this change, please address them to:
ops@eumetsat.int

FSD.
GOES11_135W eclipse from 09/02/09 to 28/04/09: 09:00 UTC and 10:00 UTC
files
may not be available.
GOES12_75W eclipse from 14/02/09 to 28/04/09: 05:00 UTC and 06:00 UTC
files
may not be available.
MTSAT-1R_140E eclipse from 15/02/09 to 25/04/09: 14:00 UTC and 15:00 UTC
files may not be available.

MTSAT-1R images will be replaced with MTSAT-2 images during the MTSAT-1R
decontamination. This is scheduled from 03:30 17/02/09 until 07:30
18/02/09.
The images will continue to be labelled as MTSAT-1R and they will be
rectified to 140E. No additional action is required by the user.

Due to GOES11_135W manoeuvre planned on 18/02/09 at 00:56 UTC, there will
be
no image at 01:00 UTC.
Images may be incomplete for up to 6 hours following the manoeuvre.

IODC.
Due to Meteosat-7 eclipse season from 12/02/09 to 31/03/09, slots 39 to 43
may not be available.
Due to sun co-linearity between 15/02/09 and 23/02/09 the 07:46 AIW and
07:58 AV formats may not be available.

Metop-A.
18/02/2009 14:30 - 15:30. Due to maintenance data interruptions of all EPS
products may occur during this period.

EARS
18/02/2009 09:00 to 19/02/2009 16:00. There is a high risk period for all
EARS services due to system maintenance. Users may observe some delays of
ATOVS and ASCAT product delivery and some missed segments for EARS-AVHRR
for
short periods during this maintenance.

The following EPS GDS products are available on Eumetcast.

EPS-2    PID 510    Metop AMSA          operational
EPS-3    PID 510    Metop ASCAT        operational
EPS-4    PID 510    Metop ATOVS        operational
EPS-5    PID 510    Metop GOME          operational
EPS-6    PID 510    Metop GRAS           operational
EPS-7    PID 510    Metop HIRS             operational
EPS-8    PID 510    Metop MHS             operational
EPS-10  PID 510    Metop AVHRR        operational
EPS-11  PID 510    Metop IASI              operational
EPS-13  PID 510    NOAA AMSA          operational
EPS-14  PID 510    NOAA ATOVS        operational
EPS-15  PID 510    NOAA GAC            operational
EPS-16  PID 510    NOAA HIRS           operational
EPS-17  PID 510    NOAA MHS            operational
EPS-18  PID 510    EPS Service News   operational



NOTES.

1.  Reports for all sections  should be sent to :-
     Douglas Deans   dsdeans@tiscali.co.uk

2.  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/

=====================

 
73's - Adrian, G4ROA @ GB7COV

Message timed: 07:19 on 16 Feb 2009
Message sent using WinPack V6.70 (R)
(Prog written by Roger Barker, G4IDE/G8MZX, Silent Key 09/09/04)

	Member of: 
 AMSAT, RSGB, GEO & RAYNET
     QTH Loc - IO92gj
      NGR SP 342 765
      GPS  52deg 23.15min N
          001deg 29.83min W
  E-Mail: G4ROA@AOL.com


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