The completed GOES-R series will create a worldwide constellation of seven Advanced Baseline Imager–class geostationary instruments: four for NOAA, two for Japan, and one for South Korea.
GOES-U is slated to launch in 2024 and will complete the GOES-R series of advanced geostationary weather sensors.
The Atlas V 541 configuration has launched missions for the National Reconnaissance Office, carried the GOES-R and GOES-S satellites, and most recently launched the Mars 2020 mission with the Perseverance rover and Ingenuity helicopter.
GOES-U, the fourth satellite in the GOES-R series, is scheduled to launch in 2024 on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy.
GOES-T is the third of four satellites in the GOES-R series of geostationary weather satellites built by Lockheed Martin.
The fourth and final satellite in the GOES-R series, GOES-U, is scheduled to launch in 2024 on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy.
The first two satellites in the GOES-R series are in geostationary orbit at approximately 22,483 km above Earth providing coverage over the Western Hemisphere.
L3Harris Technologies provides the Advanced Baseline Imager main instrument payload for the GOES-R series and supplies the ground system including the antenna system for data reception.
NOAA manages the GOES-R Series Program through an integrated NOAA-NASA office that administers the ground system contract, operates the satellites, and distributes their data worldwide.
GOES-U is the fourth and final spacecraft in the GOES-R Series of geostationary weather satellites operated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
GOES-R launched in November 2016 and was renamed GOES-16, operating from the GOES East slot at 75 degrees west in geostationary orbit.
GOES-U, the final satellite in the GOES-R Series, is scheduled to launch in 2024.
The GOES-R follow-on, called Geostationary and Extended Observations, is planned to include five instruments: a sophisticated imager, a lightning mapper, sensors to monitor atmospheric composition and ocean color, and a hyperspectral infrared sounder.
NOAA is working on the GOES-R series of geostationary weather satellites and the Joint Polar Satellite System series of polar orbiting satellites while starting to plan a future generation of weather satellites.
The first GEO-XO satellite is expected to launch in the early 2030s before NOAA retires the GOES-R Series satellites.
The overall lifecycle cost of the Geo-XO constellation, after accounting for inflation, is likely to be similar to the $12,000,000,000 NOAA will spend on the entire GOES-R program from 2001 to final operations scheduled for 2035.
The final spending bill provides $304,000,000 for NOAA’s GOES-R geostationary weather satellite program.
Japan’s Himawari weather satellite observed the December fireball using sensors that Harris Corporation designed for NOAA’s Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-R (GOES-R) series constellation.