What GOES Up: New Environmental Satellite Series On the Horizon 

October 28, 2009

Typically, we only hear about satellites when they launch, such as when we celebrated the June 27 lift-off of the GOES-14, the second of NOAA’s N/O/P series of Geostationary Operational Satellites.

But, as satellite program managers will tell you, the hard work starts years before.

Next week, hundreds of scientists, engineers, and meteorologists from around the country will converge on Madison, Wis., to discuss plans for GOES-R, the next generation of GOES spacecraft and the first in the new series of GOES-R/S satellites. Scheduled to launch in 2015, GOES-R will eventually replace the GOES N/O/P series.

The 6th GOES Users' Conference will gather NOAA’s top weather and satellite officials to brief and engage scientists and meteorologists on the GOES-R program — already in development by NOAA and NASA — that will significantly change the way we monitor the Earth.

Advanced spacecraft and instrument technology used in the GOES-R series will offer significant benefits over the current GOES satellites for a wide range of applications including: more accurate and timely severe weather prediction and warnings, technologically advanced atmospheric and climate monitoring, and improved disaster response (e.g., detection of forest fires, volcanic eruptions, and search and rescue emergencies).

GOES-R is “a major leap forward” for environmental satellites, says Greg Mandt, the GOES-R system program director. And here’s why:

• In just five minutes, GOES-R will provide a high-definition scan of the entire Earth — five times faster than current capabilities — thanks to the new Advanced Baseline Imager (ABI) onboard. The ABI will offer, among other benefits, greater image quality and rapid-scanning capability. Capable of zooming in on developing storms and hurricanes, and capturing high-resolution images every 30 seconds, GOES-R will significantly improve the ability of meteorologists and forecasters to stay further ahead of quick-moving, severe weather than ever before.
  
  
• Another key feature included within the GOES-R suite of advanced instruments is the Geostationary Lightning Mapper (GLM), the first-ever, operational space-based detection system for lightning activity. By continuously monitoring and mapping all in-cloud and cloud-to-ground lightning throughout the Western Hemisphere, the GLM will spot intensifying storms quickly and accurately, giving forecasters 20 minutes or more to issue watches and warnings for tornadoes and other severe weather events.
  
  
• Sophisticated solar monitoring sensors onboard GOES-R will provide NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center with enhanced imaging and detection of fluctuations in the sun’s intense radiation, the source of disruptive solar flares and solar storms that can impair satellite transmissions and telecommunications systems, and cause widespread power outages.

 

Through a joint project known as GOES-R Proving Ground, National Weather Service meteorologists are working closely with GOES-R program developers to test, evaluate and refine the first of many GOES-R data products to analyze environmental phenomena such as rapidly forming clouds, atmospheric wind shear and the formation of severe hail.

As part of a long-standing collaboration between NOAA and NASA, the new GOES-R satellite program will help advance NOAA’s first strategic priority of providing a full suite of climate services and robust observational data to decision makers, climate scientists and other users. The investment we are making in our satellite program is a down payment towards our commitment to provide the nation with the best climate and weather forecast data technology has to offer.

To learn more about the GOES-R satellite program and its wide range of applications, please visit the joint NOAA/NASA GOES-R Web site at: www.goes-r.gov.

Sincerely,

Dr. Jane Lubchenco
Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere and NOAA Administrator

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