Protecting Data Crucial to Aviation, Weather Forecasting and Disaster Response
ERT conducts engineering analysis, feasibility studies, and systems engineering to minimize data loss in the NOAA satellite data downlink, protecting America’s weather forecasting and monitoring, aviation safety, and disaster response.
Case Study
Protecting Data Crucial to Aviation, Weather Forecasting & Disaster Response
ERT provides engineering analysis, feasibility studies, and systems engineering to support NOAA’s Radio Frequency Information Monitoring Systems (RFIMS), protecting the weather data crucial to weather forecasting, aviation safety, and disaster response.
Protecting American Interests
Severe Weather Warnings
We help protect satellite data crucial to forecasts and warnings for hurricanes, tornadoes, or flash floods.
Aviation Safety
Real-time weather data is essential for air traffic routing and passenger safety.
Public Health and Emergency Response
Weather monitoring supports decisions on evacuations, disaster relief, and more.
Our Solution
The NOAA Radio Frequency Information Monitoring Systems (RFIMS) program management office, within the OCS, National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service (NESDIS), delivers technology to detect, classify, identify and report on Radio Frequency (RF) interference originating from wireless user equipment operating in the shared 1695 – 1710 MHz frequency range, to minimize data loss in the NOAA satellite data downlink.
This interference negatively impacts NOAA satellite data downlink transmissions. RFIMS units monitor the shared spectrum at NOAA satellite earth stations for interference. RFIMS units provide notification to enable mitigation and prevent data loss. The RFIMS PMO works with NOAA satellite earth stations to deliver, operate, and maintain systems that manage the shared spectrum and minimize data loss due to RF interference.
Our Approach
To support RFIMS, ERT conducts engineering analysis, feasibility studies, and systems engineering. This support evaluates enterprise solutions related to RFIMS capability and supports the integration of RFIMS components into those solutions if beneficial.
ERT directly supports the mission by protecting the integrity of satellite data downlinks, which are critical to weather forecasting, environmental monitoring, and disaster response. RF interference in the 1695–1710 MHz band can lead to data loss during satellite transmissions, compromising the quality and timeliness of weather data—potentially impacting forecasts and emergency preparedness.
Results
Field-Tested Performance
RFIMS demonstrated high signal detection capabilities, with average SNR values over 33 dB – well above detection thresholds needed to identify RF interference. Deployments at operational earth station sites such as Wallops Command and Data Acquisition Center in Virginia and the Inouye Regional Center in Honolulu, HI have collected baseline RF electromagnetic environment characterization data that allows accurate analysis of operating restrictions to be placed upon the commercial wireless operators in the vicinity of the NOAA earth stations.
Verified Commercial Wireless Transmission Restriction Compliance
Joint testing performed with Dish Wireless, a commercial wireless operator with licenses to operate in NOAA protection zones, demonstrated that RFIMS was successful at detecting when Dish was in compliance with government operating restrictions in real-time monitoring environments
Automated Notifications and Rest API Integration
RFIMS incorporates automated RESTful API-based notifications, which allow seamless integration with coordination systems for faster response and mitigation of interference events.
Adaptable Architecture
The modular and software-defined nature of RFIMS allows future scalability and deployment flexibility—key for expanding coverage or integrating new mitigation algorithms.
