Provision of a polar orbiting satellite data reception solution

Direct broadcast polar satellite data and imagery from a range of polar orbiting satellites are received and utilised to support the Nowcasting and Numerical Weather Prediction processes at the Met Office.

These data and imagery are received via two independent polar satellite tracking systems mounted on 5m towers located in a dedicated, purpose built, “satellite dish enclosure” at our Met Office HQ site in Exeter, Devon, England. Both of these tracking systems are able to receive direct broadcasts in both L and X bands, depending on which satellites are over passing at any time.

Each of the tracking systems presents received signals to its own dedicated reception system, with one antenna dish dedicated to feeding into our IT hall 1, and the other dish into IT hall 2. This architecture provides us with two separate, independent “reception chains” which together provide a high level of resilience and data availability. If one reception chain has a fault, we are still able to receive data via the other chain.

Some of our existing reception infrastructure is now approaching end-of-life. Furthermore, we are looking to future-proof our systems so that they are ready to receive data from future satellites/missions