ASOS Service Life Extension Program (SLEP)

August 2023 | ASOS Program Initiative

• For ASOS to remain viable as a mission critical system for the next 20 years, a technology refresh is required.
• The Service Life Extension Program (SLEP) for ASOS has been established for this purpose.
• This program facilitates the purchase of new ASOS Acquisition Control Units (ACU) and Data Collection Package (DCP) hardware.
• These acquisitions along with the development of associated software and information technology provide the necessary means to ensure that aviation weather information is being properly collected well into the future.
• The project is a tri-Agency undertaking between the Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration, the Department of Commerce, NOAA National Weather Service, and the Department of the Defense, US Navy.

ACU/DCP Replacement

August 2023 | SLEP Initiative

• The Legacy ASOS fielded in the 1990s was built around four main component groups: the Acquisition Control Unit , ACU, the Data Collection Package, DCP, the weather sensor group, and the system peripherals.
• In some deployments, however, the ACU and DCP are combined into a Single Cabinet ASOS (SCA) where components from both are located in one single outdoor enclosure.
• The heart of the current ASOS system, the ACU, controls the functions of all other system components.
• The ACU receives and processes weather information either from sensors directly attached or from one or more DCPs with attached weather sensor groups.
• The upgrade of the ACU and DCP hardware will allow for an extended system lifespan in addition to expanding the functionality and reliability of the system as a whole.
• Currently, the project is entering the System Acceptance Testing phase during the fall of 2023 and will transition into Operational Test and Evaluation during the Spring of 2024.
• Updates to the ACU /DCP replacement project will be posted as they become available.

Campbell Scientific Inc. Meteorological Garden

• Campbell Scientific is the manufacturer for the upgraded ASOS Acquisition Control Unit, Data Collection Package and the Single Cabinet ASOS (ACU/DCP/SCA) for the National Weather Service, Automated Surface Observation System.
• Campbell Scientific has been a trusted leader in measurement systems for over 40 years.
• Campbell Scientific, Inc. is the original equipment manufacturer of the upgraded ASOS ACU/DCP/SCA. ASOS sites with this upgrade are dubbed at “ASOS 2.0” sites. 
• As the OEM, CSI has replicated an ASOS at their headquarters in Logan, UT for use as a representative Engineering Development Model (EDM).
• Here are some pictures of the mock up of the CSI meteorological “garden” that will be used to support the NWS in system integration and engineering baseline synchronization.