Since their launch in 1974, geostationary operational environmental satellites (GOES) have been a critical part of NOAA’s weather forecasting and monitoring systems. These spacecraft remain constantly above a fixed point on the Earth and maintain a continuous vigil, detecting atmospheric “triggers” for severe storms like tornadoes, thunderstorms and hurricanes; tracking fog distribution; estimating rainfall for flash flood warnings; and observing snow accumulations for winter and spring snow melt advisories. GOES data also helps NOAA monitor solar activity and the space environment for potential effects on our technology, power grids and communications systems.
GOES-16 is the latest in a series of advanced weather satellites that help to provide the most accurate and timely weather data available.
The satellite is powered by solar arrays that generate a minimum of 16 megawatts of power and provides real-time imagery from geostationary orbit 35,790 kilometers (22,240 miles) above the Earth. It transmits information back to the Wallops Command and Data Acquisition Station in Virginia for telemetry, tracking and command. GOES-16 is equipped with a variety of imaging and sounding instruments. Its advanced Advanced Baseline Imager will provide high-resolution, panoramic views of Earth’s surface with visible and infrared capability. Its Sounder instrument will sense emitted thermal and reflected solar energy to detect cloud cover, ocean surface temperatures, and vertical temperature and water vapour structures. It will also include the first operational satellite solar coronagraph and an Earth Observing System (EOS) package of sensors including magnetometers, high energy protons and alpha particles, the Space Environment Monitor (SEM), and the Search and Rescue Satellite (S&RSAT).
In addition to its weather observations, GOES-16 will be able to relay distress signals sent via the COSPAS-SARSAT system from people or aircraft that need help. It will also be able to track and send real-time data from the Emergency Managers Weather Information Network (EMWIN) service, operated by NOAA’s National Weather Service, directly to Local Emergency Management Offices and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
Aside from providing weather forecasting and monitoring services, GOES satellites have made an important contribution to understanding our planet’s long-term climate. GOES images of Earth’s surface can detect the presence of global aerosols, which influence global temperatures, and are a factor in the evolution of hurricane formation and intensity. They are also used to monitor the onset of polar ice and sea ice, track the thawing of Antarctica’s polar ice shelf, and monitor the onset of the global warming phenomenon known as the ozone hole.
The GOES-R program is a partnership between NOAA and NASA to develop, design and operate a new generation of geostationary satellites that will continue to deliver critical weather and climate data into the 2030s. NOAA is responsible for establishing requirements and funding, while NASA is responsible for the development, procurement and launch of each spacecraft and its instrument suite. The GOES-R program includes a robust ground system to process the enormous volume of data that will be transmitted from each satellite. This is a critical component to the success of the program.