When you launch your small satellite television system, the go-to point is the local TV station. But if you live in a rural area or in a small town, you know that doesn’t cut it. You need to find out what is going on in your community and pick up the telephone. The good news is that many rural areas have access to free-to-air channels; you can tune into your local channels and enjoy your programming without incurring extra expenses.

If you’re able to view your programming through a basic SBS or UHF broadcast antenna, then congratulations! You’ve taken the first step toward programming solution for your satellite-based system. But there are times when the signals receive from these antennas are weak or have poor audio quality due to atmospheric conditions. If this is the case, then you will want to consider using the Advanced Baseline Imager (ABI) as one of your tools for weather monitoring.

The ABI is an enhanced version of the already-advanced Baseline Imager (BIA), which is used in the Global Positioning System (GPS). The ABI is a device that looks like a flat screen monitor that is affixed to a rack mounted instrumented with a high-gain antenna that sends out a laser image of the Earth’s surface which is captured by the receiver at a fixed distance. A GPS based on the altitude and azimuth readings of the Earth’s equator is sent to the device which displays it on a computer screen. The data is displayed in real time via a digital voice transmission (C ATU) at the frequency of 7 feet above ground level.

As mentioned earlier, there are two types of weather monitoring equipment that you might choose from. Some of these are Operational Environmental Satellite (OES) and Historical Environmental Satellite (HEAS). These two types of weather tracking devices use completely different technologies. For instance, an OES uses the Doppler principle to the Historical Environmental Satellites use an antenna known as a reflector which picks up radio waves of certain frequencies and converts them into an electric signal which is then processed by the GPS receiver. The difference between the two devices is quite vast and although it may seem trivial to some, it actually has a profound impact on the quality of the retrieved data.

There are a lot of benefits of using these space exploration vehicles for scientific research. For instance, the GISS (Global Positioning System) and NASA’s Opportunity, Mars and Venus Program respectively launched the first global positioning system satellites which greatly helped in the understanding of our planet’s movements. Both of these pioneering missions successfully retrieved samples of Mars dirt, which is currently being studied by scientists. Another benefit of using these earth orbit satellites is the ability to perform fly-by landings of selected landing areas. During this process, ground control teams can land remotely and inspect the samples using instruments on the unmanned probe, which is then brought back to the Earth for analysis.

There are other benefits of using this type of satellites besides studying space weather around our planet. Many private and government agencies are also using these satellites to monitor their assets in the skies above. For example, the US National Weather Service and the military have been using the GOES (geostationary weather infrared) satellite to monitor the upper atmosphere of our planet as a means of tracking severe weather conditions which are known to affect infrastructure and even people living in remote areas. Furthermore, private and government agencies such as the CIA, the FBI, the CIA, the US Navy, Air Force, the Marines and the NNSA rely on the signals gathered by these orbiting weather satellites to detect illegal activities or intrusions into their territories