Topic: DMSP Data Capture Support Termination at McMurdo Ground Station, Antarctica (MCM) and delivery suspension of DMSP Operational Linescan System (OLS) FINE data.
Date/Time Issued: April 24, 2025 2042 UTC
Product(s) or Data Impacted: FINE, SMOOTH and HOUSEKEEPING data from Operational Linescan System (OLS), Special Sensor Microwave Imager Sounder (SSMIS), and all Near-Earth Space Weather instruments captured at McMurdo South Pole Ground Station (MCM).
Date/Time of Initial Impact: April 30, 2025 0000 UTC
Date/Time of Expected End: N/A
Length of Outage: Permanent
Details/Specifics of Change:
Due to recent service changes, the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) data at MCM (McMurdo / South Pole) will cease after April 30, 2025 0000 UTC. After that date, only full orbit DMSP data acquisition will only occur at the DoD’s Satellite Communications Network (SCN) or at NOAA’s Fairbanks Command and Data Acquisition Station (CDA). NOAA’s DMSP schedulers will no longer schedule OPS51 (F17) and OPS53 (F18) contacts at MCM (McMurdo / South Pole) after April 30, 2025 0000 UTC. After April 30, 2025 0000 UTC, DMSP OLS FINE data will no longer be scheduled on the DMSP recorders and will no longer be available due to recent service changes. This change affects all DMSP OPS54 (F16), OPS51 (F17), and OPS53 (F18) satellites. Sites that receive DMSP OLS data via direct readout terminals or via Mark-IVB sites will continue to receive the regional FINE OLS data.
Note: DMSP contacts that are scheduled at other sites are unaffected. This change only impacts DMSP data captured specifically at the southern hemisphere via MCM. This means there will no longer be data captured and distributed every half-orbit as DMSP shifts to full orbit data dumps from the Satellite Communications Network (SCN) and the Fairbanks Command and Data Acquisition Station (CDA) stations.
Contact Information: Please email User Services at spsd.userservices@noaa.gov
Web Site(s) for applicable information: N/A
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