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Forum:Satellites - Robotic Probes
Topic:NASA/NOAA GOES-R series weather satellites
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The GOES-R series satellites will provide continuous imagery and atmospheric measurements of Earth's Western Hemisphere, total lightning data, and space weather monitoring to provide critical atmospheric, hydrologic, oceanic, climatic, solar and space data.

GOES-R will provide images of weather pattern and severe storms as frequently as every 30 seconds, which will contribute to more accurate and reliable weather forecasts and severe weather outlooks. GOES-R's environmental data products will support short-term weather forecasts and severe storm watches and warnings, maritime forecasts, seasonal predictions, drought outlooks and space weather predictions. GOES-R products will improve hurricane tracking and intensity forecasts, increase thunderstorm and tornado warning lead time, improve aviation flight route planning, provide data for long-term climate variability studies, improve solar flare warnings for communications and navigation disruptions and enhance space weather monitoring.

The GOES-R Program is managed by NOAA with an integrated NOAA-NASA program office organization, staffed with personnel from NOAA and NASA, and supported by industry contractors. The Program is co-located at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center.

GOES-R is composed of the GOES-R Program Office and two integrated NOAA-NASA project offices: the Flight Project and the Ground Segment Project. The Flight Project oversees the development of the space segment of the mission, which consists of the spacecraft, the instruments, launch vehicle, and the auxiliary communication payloads. The Ground Segment Project oversees the facilities, antenna sites, and the software and hardware for satellite command and control, processes data, and creates and distributes end user products.

The GOES-R series will maintain the two-satellite system implemented by the current GOES satellites. However, the locations of the operational GOES-R series satellites will be 75⁰ W and 137⁰ W. The latter is a shift from current GOES at 135⁰ W in order to eliminate conflicts with other satellite systems. The GOES-R series operational lifetime extends through December 2036. For a history of GOES satellites, click here.

GOES-R is scheduled to launch on November 19, 2016 at 5:42 p.m. EST. The satellite will launch from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida, aboard an Atlas V 541 rocket.

GOES-R, which will be known as GOES-16 once it reaches geostationary orbit, will be placed in the 89.5° checkout orbit where it will undergo an extended checkout and validation phase of approximately one year. The satellite will transition to operations immediately afterward.

GOES-R's operational orbit has not yet been determined. The final decision will be based on the health and performance of the GOES constellation. NOAA's Office of Satellite and Product Operations will be responsible for determining the operational orbit for GOES-R.

JPSastroLive coverage of the GOES-R weather satellite is currently being broadcast via cable/satellite on The Weather Channel.

The launch is currently been delayed to 6:17 p.m. EST due to a issue with the Atlas 5 launch vehicle. Techs are trying to resolve the issue. The launch window is only one hour today. Original launch time was 5:42 p.m. EST.

Robert PearlmanLaunch is now targeted for 6:42 p.m. EST (2342 GMT), the end of the window.

The technical issue with the Atlas V has now been resolved, per NASA, but the Eastern Range is working an issue.

Robert PearlmanThe Eastern Range issue is resolved. Launch is targeted for 6:42 p.m. EST (2342 GMT), the end of the window.
Robert PearlmanUnited Launch Alliance (ULA) photos
A United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket carrying GOES-R spacecraft for NASA and NOAA lifts off from Space Launch Complex-41 at 6:42 p.m. EST.

Robert PearlmanNASA release (Photo: United Launch Alliance)
NASA, ULA Launch Advanced NOAA Weather Satellite

NASA successfully launched the second in a series of next-generation weather satellites for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) at 5:02 p.m. EST Thursday (March 1).

NOAA's Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-S (GOES-S) lifted off on a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

GOES-S mission managers confirmed at 8:58 p.m. the spacecraft's solar arrays successfully deployed and the spacecraft was operating on its own power.

The satellite will provide faster, more accurate and more detailed data, in near real-time, to track storm systems, lightning, wildfires, coastal fog and other hazards that affect the western United States.

"We at NASA Science are proud to support our joint agency partner NOAA on today's launch of GOES-S, a national asset that will impact lives across the Western Hemisphere each and every day," said Thomas Zurbuchen, NASA associate administrator for science, who attended today's launch.

Once GOES-S is positioned in a geostationary orbit 22,300 miles above Earth, in approximately two weeks, it will be renamed GOES-17. Later this year, after undergoing a full checkout and validation of its six high-tech instruments, the new satellite will move to the GOES-West position and become operational. From there, it constantly will provide advanced imagery and atmospheric measurements, real-time mapping of lightning activity, and improved monitoring of solar activity and space weather.

In addition to improving weather forecasts, GOES-17 will help forecasters locate and track wildfires – invaluable information that emergency response teams need to fight fires and evacuate people out of harm's way. GOES-17 also will be an important tool for forecasters to track and predict the formation and dissipation of fog, which can disrupt airport operations.

GOES-17 will work in tandem with GOES-16, the first satellite in NOAA's new geostationary series, now at the GOES-East position. GOES-17 will extend observational high-resolution satellite coverage of the revolutionary new technology aboard GOES-16 to most of the Western Hemisphere, from the west coast of Africa to New Zealand, and from near the Arctic Circle to near the Antarctic Circle. The satellite will provide more and better data than is currently available over the northeastern Pacific Ocean, the birthplace of many weather systems that affect the continental U.S.

NOAA manages the GOES-R Series program through an integrated NOAA/NASA office at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. NASA also oversees the acquisition of the spacecraft, instruments and launch vehicles. Lockheed Martin Space of Littleton, Colorado, built the spacecraft and is responsible for spacecraft development, integration and testing.

Mission operations will be performed by NOAA at the NOAA Satellite Operations Facility in Suitland, Maryland. Harris Corp. of Melbourne, Florida, provided the main instrument payload, the Advanced Baseline Imager, and the ground system, which includes the antenna system for data receipt. NASA's Launch Services Program, based at the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, is responsible for launch management. ULA of Centennial, Colorado, is the provider of the Atlas V launch service.

Robert PearlmanNASA release
GOES-17 Mishap Investigation Board Study Completed

A Mishap Investigation Board appointed by NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has identified the most likely cause for an instrument issue aboard NOAA's Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES)-17 satellite that launched March 1, 2018 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

During postlaunch testing of the satellite's Advanced Baseline Imager (ABI), teams discovered the instrument's infrared detectors could not be maintained at the required temperatures during some orbital conditions, which resulted in a partial loss of three of the instruments 16 bands during certain times of the year.

The ABI is GOES-17's primary instrument for imaging Earth's weather, oceans, and environment. It views the Earth with 16 spectral bands including two visible, four near-infrared, and 10 infrared channels.

The mishap board was tasked with gathering and analyzing information, and identifying the proximate causes, root causes, and contributing factors related to the ABI performance issues. It concluded the most likely cause of the ABI cooling issue is a blockage in the instrument's loop heat pipes, which transfer heat from the ABI electronics to its radiator. The blockage restricted the flow of coolant in the loop heat pipes, causing the ABI to overheat and reducing the sensitivity of infrared sensors.

NOAA and NASA have adjusted the instrument operations, and are working to improve the quality of the data in order to reduce the impact of the cooling issue.

GOES-17, in the GOES-West position, is helping forecasters track weather from torrential rain events to wildfires and other environmental hazards throughout the U.S. western region, including California, Alaska and Hawaii. Also, GOES-17 is monitoring typhoons in the eastern Pacific Ocean, including Hawaii.

Robert PearlmanNASA release
NASA, ULA Launch NOAA's Newest Earth Observing Satellite

NASA successfully launched the third in a series of next-generation weather satellites for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) at 4:38 p.m. EST Tuesday. The newest Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite, GOES-T, launched on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.

GOES-T mission managers confirmed at 8:28 p.m. the spacecraft's solar arrays successfully deployed and the spacecraft was operating on its own power.

"We at NASA are proud to support our joint agency partner, NOAA, and their mission to provide critical data and imagery to forecasters and researchers tracking hazardous weather," said NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy. "While the GOES-R series satellites' main job is to help with weather prediction, these satellites produce observations that also help with NASA science. Our agencies' collaboration brings great benefits toward understanding our planet."

The satellite will provide continuous coverage of weather and hazardous environmental conditions in the Western Hemisphere. The GOES program also predicts space weather near Earth that can interfere with satellite electronics, GPS, and radio communications.

"We at NASA feel honored to continue to work with NOAA on this strategic and successful partnership. Besides our work on spacecraft development and launch, NASA supported science teams are looking forward to analyzing the precious data that GOES-T will provide," said Thomas Zurbuchen, the associate administrator for the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. "These observations are a key part of our research towards improving understanding and models of climate, weather, and space weather – models that, in turn, support NOAA's crucial work as they lead the weather and space weather forecasts for the nation."

Once GOES-T is positioned in a geostationary orbit 22,300 miles above Earth, it will be renamed GOES-18. Following a successful orbital checkout of its instruments and systems, GOES-18 will go into service over the U.S. West Coast and Pacific Ocean. This position puts it in a key spot where it can observe weather sweeping in from the west to the east over the U.S. – giving forecasters an upstream view of what is coming.

"This launch continues a 48-year history of NOAA, NASA, industry, and academia working together on geostationary satellite observations," said John Gagosian, director of NASA's Joint Agency Satellite Division. "GOES satellites help us every day. They bring advanced new capabilities to help forecasters better monitor and predict dangerous environmental conditions like hurricanes, thunderstorms, floods, and fires."

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