...new tool that will help track and report anomalies in critical weather satellite information. Weather forecasters, emergency managers, scientists and other environmental data users throughout the western hemisphere rely on the accuracy and availability of this information to rapidly analyze and disseminate weather information to the public.

The Product Anomaly, Ticket, Relationship, Organization, and Notification (PATRON) tool was created for the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite — R Series (GOES-R) Ground Segment but was immediately implemented to support other environmental satellites in operation today. PATRON is a trouble reporting and tracking system for satellite weather products created by the National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service’s Office of Satellite Products and Operations (OSPO). Any abnormal occurrences in the process of receiving instrument data from the satellite, processing and formatting the data into usable weather products, and distributing the weather products to end users are considered anomalies.

As part of its trouble reporting capabilities, PATRON has a relational database that contains the definitions of all NOAA satellites, onboard instruments, ground system computers, products generated from the data of each instrument, and the subject matter experts related to each product. By integrating all of this data, PATRON enables users to analyze the impacts of product-related anomalies across the entire system. PATRON was developed collaboratively by Harris, the GOES-R Ground Segment prime contractor; the GOES-R Ground Segment Project Data Operations Support Team; and the OSPO/Satellite Products and Services Division. A four-month, agile development approach was used, which included participation by operators who are using the tool.

PATRON represents an early release of the anomaly reporting and tracking tool that will be delivered with the GOES-R Ground Segment in 2015. The Ground Segment will process approximately 60 times more data than is possible today, and deliver weather products to NOAA’s National Weather Service and more than 10,000 other direct users. The Ground Segment will receive and process satellite data, generate and distribute products from satellite data, and provide command and control of the geostationary satellites.