ISCS uses three INTELSAT satellites
to disseminate meteorological products to users -- INTELSAT 903
over the Atlantic Ocean, and INTELSAT 701 over the Pacific Ocean,
INTELSAT 906 over the Indian Ocean (see
ISCS operations Footprints). ISCS satellite uplinks
(ground stations), are located at three Verizon International
Gateways. Andover Maine covers the Atlantic Ocean region, and
Yacolt Washington covers the Pacific region while Fuchsstadt Germany
covers the remainder of the Pacific region - eastern Asia.
Data in TCP/IP protocol, is sent
from the National Weather Service Telecommunications Gateway (NWSTG),
in Silver Spring, MD, to the Verizon International Gateway in
Andover, Me, via redundant terrestrial links at 128 kilobytes
per second. From Andover, data is sent directly to the INTELSAT
903, INTELSAT 906 satellites, and also to the INTELSAT 701 satellite
(through the Yacolt, WA International Gateway via terrestrial
link from Andover), for broadcast to users within each satellite
footprint. The satellite broadcast is a C-band (5-6 Ghz
system), with a data rate of 128 kilobytes per second. The
communications protocol over the satellite is a Hughes Communications
satellite protocol.
Reception of the satellite broadcast
is based on the Very Small Aperture Terminal (VSAT) technology,
consisting of a 2.4 meter parabolic antenna. Other required
hardware at receiving sites
includes the radio receiver, satellite modem, and a user workstation
to receive and process the satellite broadcast. Workstations
may be purchased from any suitable vendor.