The verb go means to move from one place to another, such as when you get on a plane or drive a car. But it can also mean to advance or proceed – like when you start a new job or begin a new project. It can even mean to move through time – as when you watch the sun set or the day go by. It also refers to a sequence of events, such as when you play a game of go or watch a TV show. The word goes can be a powerful part of a sentence, whether used for good or bad. It can give you a sense of purpose and direction, or it can be a way to express frustration or boredom.
GOES (Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite) provides advanced imagery and atmospheric measurements of Earth’s western hemisphere. These data are critical for assessing weather conditions that impact public safety, protection of property and our nation’s economy and national security.
The GOES-R Series, launched in 2015 and scheduled to continue operating for at least 14 years, provides improved regional environmental imagery, meteorological, oceanographic, solar, climatic and space weather data to central processing centers and direct users. It is designed to deliver data with less latency than previous GOES satellites, while also providing full hemispheric coverage and a greater range of observations.
A key feature of the GOES-R Series is the Advanced Baseline Imager, or ABI. The ABI is the world’s most advanced geostationary weather instrument, capable of observing weather and environmental phenomena that current GOES satellites cannot including dust, sea ice, clouds, water vapor, fires, volcanic ash and winds. The ABI can scan the entire Earth every 30 seconds, allowing it to monitor rapidly changing events such as clouds or storms.
In addition to the ABI, the GOES-R Series contains a Geostationary Lightning Mapper that will significantly improve storm hazard identification and warning lead times. It will also monitor the occurrence of solar activity and space weather that can affect communications, reduce navigational accuracy, and interfere with power grids and high altitude aircraft.
The GOES-R program is a collaborative effort between NOAA and NASA. NOAA manages the satellites and their data, while NASA designs, creates, builds and launches the GOES-R Series satellites and instruments. Lockheed Martin builds the satellites and designs and builds the Advanced Baseline Imager, while L3 Harris Technologies produces the sounder.
The STAR website hosts examples of ongoing experimental product development and is intended for use by remote sensing researchers, experienced meteorologists and oceanographers only. The STAR webservers host only a subset of the GOES-R products that are available through NOAA’s distribution system. Any usage outside of the intended audience may result in the loss of the scientific integrity of the product. The STAR data and images are provided free of charge to the general user community through NOAA’s Geostationary Data Distribution System.