PDUS METEOSAT

The PDUS METEOSAT is a ground station for receiving and processing the primary data of the METEOSAT geostationary weather satellite, made in the microproduction workshop of the ICE research institute in Bucharest, where it was designed [1]. The satellite images the Earth in the visible, infrared and water-vapour bands; the images are corrected at the METEOSAT ground centre in Darmstadt and sent back through the satellite on two L-band channels, as analogue WEFAX and high-resolution digital (HR) transmissions, supplemented by GOES-E images relayed from Lannion, France [1]. The standard station comprised a parabolic antenna with a down-converter at its focus, a receiver and a PDP-11-compatible minicomputer storing the data on 50 MB disks or 1600 bpi tape; a second minicomputer was needed for real-time images and weather maps [1].

ICE’s microwave laboratory began its work with this ground station, which was exported to North Korea; because of its complexity it was made in the institute’s microproduction [2].