NMSC National Meteorological Satellite Center

Introduction of COMS (Communication, Ocean and Meteorological Satellite)

Korea’s first geostationary multi-purpose satellite which is stationed at an altitude of 36,000 km above the Earth’s equator and at a longitude of 128.2°E performing the duties of meteorological and ocean observations and communications services.

A joint project that started in 2003 by the KMA (Korea Meteorological Administration), MEST (Ministry of Education, Science & Technology), MLTM (Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs), and KCC (Korea Communications Commission) in accordance with the Mid and Long-term National Space Development Plan.

Korea Aerospace Research Institute is the project leader and responsible for the overall development. EDAS Astrium of France and ITT of the United States are the foreign partners involved.

Launched successfully from the Guiana Space Center, Kourou in French Guiana, South America on June 27, 2010.

COMS configuration

- Dimensions: 2.2 × 2.4 × 2.6m
- Mass at launch: 2.5 tons
- Operational life: 7 years
- Manufactured by: KARI (Korea Aerospace Research Institute) and EADS Astrium of France

Changes brought on with development of geostationary meteorological satellite

Before the launch of COMS

- Received meteorological satellite data from Japan and other countries every 30 minutes
- Observation areas and observation times could not be adjusted Forecasts based on simple image analysis were possible

After the launch of COMS

- The operation of our own meteorological satellite made intensive monitoring of extreme weather conditions possible through observing over the Korean peninsula with maximum 8-minute interval.
- In case of an extreme weather situation, it is possible to adjust independently the observation areas and times around the Korean peninsula.
- It is possible to generate data to support image analysis, our own data processing systems, and a numerical forecast.

Missions of COMS

Meteorological Missions

- Continuous monitoring of imagery and extracting of meteorological products
- Early detection of severe weather phenomena
- Monitoring of climate change and atmospheric environment

Maritime Missions

- Monitoring of marine environment and marine ecology of seas surrounding the Korean peninsula
- Generation of chlorophylls production estimates and fishery information

Communications Missions

- Broadband satellite multimedia testing services
- Korean Ka-band Transponders space certification

Overview of Meteorological Payload

Production: ITT of the United States

It has the same performance characteristics as the meteorological sensors mounted on GOES-8 ~ 13 of the U.S. and MTSAT-2 of Japan.

Basic Performance Data

24-hr continuous monitoring of weather changes along with securing Korea’s first 24-hr continuous observation by infrared channels

COMS Meteorological Data Processing System (CMDPS) Development

- Generation of 16 types of analysis data using the L1B data of COMS
- Data used in weather forecasting & numerical forecasting input data, prediction of climate changes
- Meteorological Data Processing System calculates meteorological elements