The GOES-N Spacecraft

GOES-NOP Brochure
GOES-N Databook
GOES-N Mission Booklet
GOES-N Fact Sheet 2006
GOES-N Short launch Video (.mov)
GOES-N/13 First Official Visible Images

On January 28, 1998, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) awarded a contract to Hughes Space and Communications (now Boeing),in El Segundo, California, for the manufacture, launch and delivery on-orbit of up to four advanced environmental monitoring Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites (GOES) and delivery of associated ground system elements. The procurement of the GOES-N series was an extension of a program designed to primarily provide continuous monitoring of the Earth’s weather systems and the near earth space environment. The new spacecraft of the GOES-N Series will be used to continue and enhance the environmental monitoring and communications functions of the GOES-I thru M (GOES-8 thru 12) series of NOAA operational spacecraft.

The basic contract provides for two spacecraft, GOES-N & O. NOAA decided to only exercise the option for a third GOES-P satellite with all three using the expendable launch vehicle Delta IV (4,2) with two solids for additional on orbit fuel savings. The first satellite to be purchased under this contract, GOES-N, is ready for Boeing commercial launch, with a Federal Aviation Administration launch license in late 2005. GOES-N will carry government furnished ITT built Imager and Sounder instruments to provide regular measurements of the Earth’s atmosphere, cloud cover, ocean temperatures, and land surfaces. GOES-N will carry a new operational government furnished Solar X-ray Imager built by Lockheed. Space Environment Monitor instruments were part of the Boeing spacecraft contract and were built by Science Applications International Corporation (built the magnetometers) in Columbia, Maryland, and Assurance Technology Corporation (formerly GE Panametrics) in Carlisle, Massachusetts. Assurance Technology built the high energy, electron, and proton particle sensors and the new extreme ultraviolet solar monitoring instrument. Significant portions of the GOES-N satellite support ground system are provided by Integral Systems, Inc., of Lanham, Maryland.

In 2004, the GOES-N spacecraft completed construction and spacecraft level thermal-vacuum testing. In 2005 post-environmental deployment tests and other functional verifications were completed. GOES-N was shipped to Cape Canaveral by a USAF C-17 aircraft on March 9, 2005, and was processed at the Astrotech Space Operations, Inc. facility in Titusville, Florida. GOES-N was transported to the Delta IV Space launch Complex 37 and hoisted and mated to the Delta IV as shown in the photo gallery images. GOES-N launch attempts in late August 2005 were aborted and the spacecraft has weathered through the 62 MPH winds of Hurricane Wilma while safely encapsulated in a clean and dry air conditioned environment on top of the Delta IV at Space Launch Complex 37B.

The multimission GOES-N Series of satellites will be a vital contributor to weather, solar, and space operations and future science improvements with weather prediction and remote sensing. The GOES-N Series will aid severe storm warnings, resource management, search and rescue, emergency managers, and likely lead to additional advances in environmental sciences and multifaceted data applications of remotely sensed phenomena. GOES-N data will add to the global climate change databases of knowledge, embracing many civil and government environmental forecasting organizations that work to benefit people everywhere and help save lives every day.

GOES-N represents the first of the next generation of GOES satellites. An advanced attitude control system using star trackers, a spacecraft optical bench, and improved Imager and Sounder mountings provides enhanced instrument pointing performance for improved image navigation and registration to better locate severe storms and other events important to the NOAA National Weather Service. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) and the NOAA National Environmental Satellite, Data and Information Service (NESDIS) have set a higher standard of location accuracy for the GOES-N series, including data picture element (pixel) location to approximately two kilometers from geosynchronous orbit of 33,900 km (22,300 miles) above the Earth’s surface.

GOES-O is in ground storage at Boeing, in El Segundo, California and can be launched as early as September 2007, if needed by NOAA. GOES-O is nominally being planned for launch in April 2008. As of June 2006, GOES-P has completed vibration and acoustics testing and is in thermal vacuum testing. GOES-P will go into ground storage following the completion of environmental testing and should be prepared for an April 2008 launch readiness with an October 2009 planned launch date.

Imager

The Serial Number 08 GOES-N Imager satisfies the NOAA primary mission imagery requirements and was built and tested at ITT in Fort Wayne, Indiana. It is similar to the GOES-M Imager and was delivered to Boeing by NASA/GSFC and integrated onto GOES-N. Several evolutionary improvements have been incorporated to reduce single point failures; improve launch vehicle environments flexibility; add thermal shields to the secondary mirror structure to eliminate solar intrusion keep out zones and allow operations during eclipse periods; and take advantage of cooler operational set points for infrared detectors provided by the spacecraft accommodation clearer view of and improved thermal radiation to space. The Imager blackbody dwell time has been increased from 0.2 to 2 seconds and this should help reduce potential image striping. The first official GOES-13 visible full disk image was taken on June 22, 2006.

Sounder

The Serial Number 08 GOES-N Sounder was built and tested at ITT in Fort Wayne, Indiana and satisfies the NOAA atmospheric sounding multi-spectral mission visible and infrared sensing requirements. It was delivered to Boeing by NASA/GSFC and integrated onto GOES-N. The Sounder has likewise incorporated low risk evolutionary improvements to improve channel to channel coregistration; add thermal shields to the secondary mirror structure to eliminate solar intrusion keep out zones and allow operations during eclipse periods; reduce single point failures; improve launch vehicle environments flexibility; and take advantage of cooler operational set points for infrared detectors provided by the spacecraft accommodation clearer view of and improved thermal radiation to space.

Solar X-ray Imager

The GOES-N Solar X-Ray Imager (SXI) contract was awarded in 1997 to Lockheed Martin Advanced Technology Center in Palo Alto, California for two firm flight models with options and associated ground support equipment and services. These units have been successfully delivered and integrated for flight on the GOES-N Series of spacecraft. Spare components have been integrated and tested for possible flight. The first official GOES-13 SXI image was taken on July 6, 2006.

Space Environment Monitor

The main GOES-N Space Environment Monitor (SEM) subcontract was awarded by Boeing in 1998 to GE Panametrics (now Assurance Technology Corporation) in Waltham, Massachusetts. The contract includes instrument packages to be flown on each of the spacecraft in the series and includes in situ measurements of the magnetic and particle environments as well as remote measurement of the integrated X-ray emission and the extreme ultraviolet (EUV) spectra of the Sun. These units have been delivered and integrated for flight on the GOES-N spacecraft. The two GOES-N magnetometers were provided by Boeing subcontract to Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) in Columbia, Maryland. To provide stable magnetic field measurements independent of the spacecraft field, dual magnetometers are near the end of a deployable boom that is more than 8 meters long. The GOES-13 SEM instruments have all been activated and the EUV and the X-ray Sensor (XRS) appropriately responded to the M2 level solar flare that was observed on July 6, 2006.

Launch and Orbit Raising

GOES-N was launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Space Launch Complex (SLC) 37B on a Boeing Delta IV (4,2) using a 4 meter fairing common booster core configuration, with two solid strap on motors, on May 24, 2006, at 6:11 pm EDT. The GOES-N Delta IV was erected on March 16, 2005, and the two solid rockets were attached the following week. The use of the Delta IV upper stage Pratt & Whitney supplied RL10B engine performing a third burn to get to orbit will save fuel on the spacecraft, and help achieve at least 13.5 years of fuel lifetime (nominally 5 years of on orbit storage and 5 years of operations). The Delta IV provided GOES-N an initial orbit of approximately 3,576 x 18,994 nmi at 12 degrees inclination. A series of spacecraft liquid apogee motor (LAM) firings was subsequently done to bring the spacecraft to geosynchronous orbit of approximately 22,300 miles (33,900 km). GOES-N successfully completed the necessary Liquid Apogee Motor Firings to get to geosynchronous orbit near 90 degrees west longitude and as of June 4, 2006, at 2:46 am EDT became GOES-13. The solar array has been fully deployed and remaining deployments include the magnetometer boom, Imager and Sounder optical port covers and cooler doors, and the SXI. On Friday, June 2, 2006, the first command was sent from Wallops Virginia to GOES-N. The NOAA Wallops Command and Data Acquisition Station became the prime ground station on Sunday morning, June 4, 2006.

After successful post-launch checkout at 90 degrees west longitude by a coordinated Boeing, NASA, NOAA, GOES-N integrated Government and Industry team, from the NOAA Satellite Operations Control Center (SOCC) in Suitland, Maryland, the satellite will be placed in an on-orbit storage mode at 105 degrees west longitude so that it can more rapidly replace a failure of any of the other operational GOES.

GOES N,O,P Enhancement Summary
• GOES N,O,P will have an improved Image Navigation and Registration (INR) system that will use star trackers to provide precision image navigation and registration information for use with the Imaging and Sounding data products. This will improve knowledge of exactly where severe weather events are located.
• A stable optical bench has been provided to isolate the thermal deformations of the spacecraft from the Imager and Sounder instruments.
• A data product improvement has been provided with the development of the digital Low Rate Image Information Transmission (LRIT) system for distribution of data Products that were distributed in an analog WEFAX format in the previous generation of GOES satellites. The LRIT system will permit the transmission of many data products consistent with the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and will permit the distribution of more National Weather Service (NWS) information at a higher data rate to the NOAA data user community.
• The Data Collection System (DCS) has been enhanced with the addition of 300 and 1200 bps Data Collection Platforms (DCPs) that will use 8-PSK modulation and a higher power satellite transponder so that more DCPs can use the link at the same time.
• The power subsystem has been improved with the use of a single panel solar array that contains high-efficiency dual-junction gallium-arsenide solar cells. A nickel- hydrogen battery is provided to permit the satellites to operate during the eclipse periods.
• A new Solar X-Ray Imager (SXI) has been developed by the Lockheed Martin Advanced Technology Center to permit the observation and collection of solar data products.
• A dedicated transponder is being provided to support the Emergency Manager’s Weather Information Network (EMWIN) data product service.
• The Satellite design life time has been improved from 7 to 10 years, and the expected propellant lifetime has been increased to 13.5 years.
• The GOES-N,O,P command data rate has been increased to 2,000 bps, as compared to a data rate of 250 bps for the previous generation of GOES satellites.
• The GOES-N,O,P telemetry data rate has been improved to provide data at either 4,000 or 1,000 bps, as compared to the 2,000 bps data rate on the previous generation of GOES satellites.
• An optional operational “yaw flip” capability and procedure has been developed on the GOES-N,O,P Program to permit optimum performance of the Imager and Sounder radiation coolers. The procedure will permit operation of the Imager and Sounder detectors at a lower temperature and will result in lower noise performance of the instruments because of a lower detector temperature.
• The Space Environment Monitoring (SEM) subsystem has been enhanced by the addition of the Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) sensor, Energetic Proton, Electron, and Alpha particle Detector (EPEAD), the Magnetospheric Electron Detector (MAGED), the Magnetospheric Proton Detector (MAGPD) and dual magnetometers on a 27.9 foot (8.5 meter) long boom. The EPS sensors have been expanded on GOES-N,O,P to provide coverage over an extended energy range and with improved directional accuracy.
• Provision was made to allow addition of a Lightning Mapper instrument or another instrument of opportunity. No such instrument has been provided at this time and GOES-N and GOES-O have completed their pre-launch qualification testing.
• The communications services have been tailored to comply with modern national and international requirements.
• Potential reduction in striping in the image will be achieved due to increasing the Imager’s scan-mirror dwell time during the blackbody calibration process from 0.2 seconds to 2 seconds.
• Outages due to solar intrusion Keep Out Zones (KOZ) will be minimized because thermal shields have been added to the secondary mirror structure elements for the Imager and Sounder instruments.
• There will be no “boom snap” problems on the GOES-N,O,P satellites since theeffect is due to the shadow of the magnetometer boom crossing the solar sail boomand the solar sail boom is not used with the GOES-N,O,P satellite design.

Additional GOES-N Series Satellite Information

The linked PDF document titled “NOAA GOES-NOP -- The Next Generation” contains more top level information on the GOES history, mission, services, payloads, and GOES-NOP improvements. The recently completed “GOES-N Data Book” has more spacecraft and mission detailed information and is also available in PDF from this web site above for download or downloaded by section from the GOES Project Science web site at: http://goes.gsfc.nasa.gov/text/goes.databookn.html. The GOES-N Mission Booklet prepared by Boeing, in PDF form above, is a very good overview of the GOES-N mission and the expected performance from the Delta IV launch vehicle. If more timely information is needed, the NOAA GOES Program Manager, is Steve Kirkner at 301-286-1943 (email: Steve.Kirkner@noaa.gov) and the NOAA GOES-N Series Technical Acquisition Manager is Thomas M. Wrublewski at 301-286-3119 (email: Thomas.M.Wrublewski@noaa.gov). A two page satellite and launch vehicle overview is available for download in PDF form above.

GOES Planned Launch Schedule