WCDAS GOES-R Antenna Construction Site

The Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-R Series (GOES-R) is the next generation of geostationary weather satellites, scheduled to launch in 2015. The program is a collaborative development and acquisition effort between the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).  The GOES-R satellite will provide continuous imagery and atmospheric measurements of Earth's Western Hemisphere and space weather monitoring. It will be the primary tool for the detection and tracking of hurricanes and severe weather and provide new and improved applications and products for fulfilling NOAA's goals (1) Climate Adaptation and Mitigation; (2) Weather-Ready Nation; (3) Healthy Oceans; and (4) Resilient Coastal Communities and Economies.

The GOES-R Program is managed by NOAA with an integrated NOAA-NASA program office organization, staffed with personnel from NOAA and NASA and 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, which consists of the spacecraft, the instruments, launch vehicle, and the auxiliary communication payloads. The Ground Segment Project consists of the entire ground system, including the facilities, antenna sites, software and hardware for satellite command and control and to process, create, and distribute end user products, and the Remote Backup facility (RBU).

Wallops Command Data Acquisition Station
WCDAS, located on the NASA Wallops Flight Facility at Wallops, VA, will be the primary site for space/ground RF communications. Level 1b data will be processed at WCDAS to produce GOES Rebroadcast (GRB) for satellite uplink. WCDAS will also provide uplink to the satellites to support the Unique Payload Services. Three new 16.4-meter antennas will be constructed at WCDAS which are designed to operate during sustained winds of 110 mph (Cat 2) and gusts of up to 140 mph. These antennae will be backwards compatible with existing GOES satellites and will operate continuously for the life of the GOES-R series.