GlobeShot PLUS

GlobeShot PLUS is SOLETOP's turnkey reception system for geostationary weather satellites. It serves meteorological users who need to acquire satellite weather data themselves, by direct reception, including where terrestrial networks do not reach. The system combines a satellite antenna and receiving equipment with SOLETOP's software platform, and the current version supports GK2A (GEO-KOMPSAT-2A), Himawari-8/9 and GOES-R.

For GK2A, SOLETOP lists three broadcast services: UHRIT, with weather data at up to 500 m per pixel every 10 minutes, converted to netCDF and stored as images; HRIT, at up to 1 km per pixel every 10 minutes; and LRIT, carrying forecast and marine-weather images and emergency messages. Reception and processing are fully automated, run on Windows and Linux and are operated through a graphical interface. Map projection, clipping, overlay, colouring, image enhancement and land/water masking can be scripted with job scripts; output is written in HDF5 and formats such as PNG, and users can set an area of interest to reduce processing load. Level 2 products such as cloud detection, land surface temperature and sea surface temperature are generated natively.

GlobeShot is certified with the GS (Good Software) mark. Its open, plug-in-upgradable architecture is designed to add future missions. SOLETOP worked on the LRIT/HRIT/UHRIT reception subsystem of the GK2A ground control system, and since 2021 has sold its GK2A reception system in China through its authorised distributor WEATTECH, including an installation in Changping, Beijing, assessed in 2023.