Radio geeks reveal how to access crucial hurricane data after US Department of Defense cut it off
- Reference: 1753103050
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2025/07/21/ssmis_satellite_decoder/
- Source link:
In June, the US Department of Defense (DoD) decided to remove access to data collected by the Special Sensor Microwave Imager Sounder (SSMIS) instrument for the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP).
Although the end of the service was put back until August, the data loss is set to hinder hurricane forecasting by scientists in the US. One [1]told The Register : "The SSMIS satellite [data] is extremely important; as a forecaster, I use them constantly. The microwave satellite imagery allows us to peer under the overcast of a storm, probing the inner structure of a tropical cyclone. It's especially important at night."
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However, a group of amateur satellite and radio ham enthusiasts have pointed out that the data is still available, for those who know where to look. The community [3]SatDump provides tools and data allowing users to access publicly available satellite streams. Lead developer and ham radio operator Alan Antoine said the US authorities were turning off the online distribution of real time data while the satellite passes over the US stations at [4]Wallops Island , Virginia, and Fairbanks, Alaska.
[5]
[6]
However, with the correct receiver – a guide to the hardware is [7]available online – anyone in the US can pull the data directly off the satellite. Although it is encrypted over the rest of the world, the data is not encrypted over the US and the poles, according to Antoine.
[8]'Cyber security' behind decision to end defense satellite sharing of hurricane data
[9]US Department of Defense will stop sending critical hurricane satellite data
[10]US govt hiding top hurricane forecast model sparks outrage after deadly Helene
[11]Destroying offshore wind farms is top priority for Trump if he returns to presidency
The only problem is using the data. Antoine said that with previously online, publicly available documents, and a bit of trial and error, it is possible to decode the data.
"Since we saw – like everyone else – the NOAA said that the SSMIS data would get cut off, and I knew you could still get it directly from the satellite, I decided to write the decoder so that if somebody wanted to still use it, they could," he said.
The decoder is now publicly available via SatDump's [12]GitHub repository in the "verywip" branch, although users wanting to take advantage of the download might want to contact SatDump directly for more information.
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However, not all the data NOAA once distributed can be accessed using the decoder, Antoine said. Thermal data is missing due to a lack of reference material needed to decode the signal.
"I don't have an actual documentation for SSMIS, so it's mostly reverse-engineered, which I can do. It's not perfect, but it's better than nothing. I don't know if anyone is actually using it yet, because I just published it, but it's pretty likely that at least some of them are going to be doing so, considering how much of an issue the lack of data is," he said.
The Register asked NOAA to comment. ®
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[1] https://www.theregister.com/2025/06/27/us_hurricane_satellite_data_to_stop/
[2] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/networks&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2aH5kCVgSB4nstdO9_2m1AQAAANc&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[3] https://www.satdump.org/
[4] https://www.nesdis.noaa.gov/about/our-offices/office-of-satellite-and-product-operations-ospo/wallops-command-and-data-acquisition-station
[5] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/networks&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44aH5kCVgSB4nstdO9_2m1AQAAANc&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[6] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/networks&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33aH5kCVgSB4nstdO9_2m1AQAAANc&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[7] https://www.a-centauri.com/articoli/the-definitive-s-band-satellite-guide
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2025/07/07/cyber_security_behind_dod_satellite_data_cutoff/
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2025/06/27/us_hurricane_satellite_data_to_stop/
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2024/10/01/government_hurricane_forecast_secrecy/
[11] https://www.theregister.com/2024/05/14/destroying_offshore_wind_farms_is/
[12] https://github.com/SatDump/SatDump
[13] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/networks&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44aH5kCVgSB4nstdO9_2m1AQAAANc&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[14] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Nerds: 1 – Trump Administration: 0
Why?
Nerds 1 Trump Administration 1. A win win for both as Trumps admin cuts costs and people who really care about the data get the data. Not everything requires the government to do it.
Re: Nerds: 1 – Trump Administration: 0
The point here is: the DoD's move to cut off the data is meant to ACTIVELY UNDERMINE climate research. It's a political act and a stupid act. The data is also used to predict where hurricanes will form, but I guess they hate science enough to fuck that too.
Re: Nerds: 1 – Trump Administration: 0
@Dev_Fit
"The point here is: the DoD's move to cut off the data is meant to ACTIVELY UNDERMINE climate research"
Why? Did he ban it? Is climate research banned somehow? Nope. That doesnt mean the government should actively participate in the research, and that has nothing to do with any validity.
"It's a political act and a stupid act."
In which as per the first poster- nerds get what they want (yey) and Trumps admin gets to make cuts and remove the gov from something others will do happily!
"The data is also used to predict where hurricanes will form, but I guess they hate science enough to fuck that too."
Why? Because you want them to hate science?
Re: Nerds: 1 – Trump Administration: 0
In that case the government should've shared how to receive the signal and decode the data, or should've provided a paid option to receive the data.
And the government should 100% care about getting this data in the hands of scientists, it's open-source development and execution of hurricane prediction models, which will greatly aid the US.
Re: Nerds: 1 – Trump Administration: 0
@SVD_NL
"In that case the government should've shared how to receive the signal and decode the data, or should've provided a paid option to receive the data."
I do like the idea that the gov provide some kind of help to decode the data. Now there is a group actively involved in decoding maybe that will happen. A paid option could work but its gov so unlikely to be the best option.
"And the government should 100% care about getting this data in the hands of scientists, it's open-source development and execution of hurricane prediction models, which will greatly aid the US."
I dont disagree. While still accepting the gov does not need to be the one doing all that. Just let those interested to do it.
Re: Trumps admin cuts costs
This sounds more like cutting corners than cutting costs. TFA says that the "US authorities were turning off the online distribution of real time data while the satellite passes over the US stations". So they're selectively turning off the tap, which surely takes more effort than leaving it as it was.
And I fear that the workaround will be temporary until the clowns in command either encrypt the data all the time, or just make it a federal offence to use the data and deport any offenders for being un-American.
Re: Nerds: 1 – Trump Administration: 0
"Not everything requires the government to do it."
I feel obliged to point out that only a government is going to pony up $250 million plus launch costs for a weather satellite, particularly when providing data at no direct cost to the user. (A corporation would definitely charge sky-high fees for data from such a satellite, if they could be moved to launch one in the first place - given that the payback period would be very long.) Some critical things do indeed require the government to do them.
Re: Nerds: 1 – Trump Administration: 0
@Steve Hersey
"I feel obliged to point out that only a government is going to pony up $250 million plus launch costs for a weather satellite"
It is the interesting aspect of our time that government were the only ones able to afford space travel. Now of course companies compete to fly to space and deliver payloads/satellites. But even if the government stuck the 'bird' up there it is obviously not required that the government do the decoding of the data.
"particularly when providing data at no direct cost to the user"
Everyone pays tax's. Including for expanding government departments.
"Some critical things do indeed require the government to do them."
Thankfully relatively not much.
I'm afraid it's not all positive.
On the contrary, this might just reinforce the "let's break everything, it doesn't really matter" mentality of the kids in power.
I doubt this will influence the "administration" much either way
The Trumpians have demonstrated quite definitively that they care nothing for reality or the public good. At most, this effort may spur the clowns at the cabinet level to forbid the release of documentation on the data formats (in which case I hope someone leaks the docs), or even cause them to leave the data encrypted over the US, but that's all down to having petty, vindictive, incompetent assholes in charge. It's still worth the effort to mitigate the intentional damage they're doing.
This will only work for a while before they discontinue the satellite itself (if it doesn't explode before like multiple of the other DSMP satellites). The replacement constellation is Weather System Follow-on Microwave (WSF-M) and the first one is already in orbit.
Nerds: 1 – Trump Administration: 0