Weather Satellites: GOES 11

GOES 11 - Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite 11

Launch date: May 3, 2000

Launch site: Cape Canaveral, Florida

Launch vehicle: Atlas 2A

PROGRAM OBJECTIVE:

The GOES system is a basic element of U.S. weather monitoring and forecast operations and is a key component of NWS modernization program. Spacecraft and ground-based systems work together to accomplish the GOES mission of providing weather imagery and quantitative sounding data for weather forecasting and related services. The new series of GOES satellites provides significant improvements over the previous GOES system in weather imagery and atmospheric sounding information.

SPACECRAFT DESCRIPTION:

The spacecraft derive from Space System/Loral's communcations satellites, providing a 3-axis stabilized design. The main body of the spacecraft is a 2 meter cube, with a deployed length of 27 meters. The spacecraft weighs 4600 pounds. The GOES 10 system performs the following basic functions: Acquisition, processing, and dissemination of imaging and sounding data. Acquisition and dissemination of Space Environment Monitor (SEM) data. Reception and relay of data from ground-based Data Collection Platforms (DCPs) that are situated in carefully selected urban and remote areas to the NOAA Command and Data Acquisition (CDA) station. Continuous relay of Weather Facsimile (WEFAX) and other data to users, independent of all other functions. Relay of distress signals from people, aircraft, or marine vessels to the search and rescue ground stations of the Search and Rescue Satellite Aided Tracking (SARSAT) system. GOES-10 is located at 105 W longitude, and in post-launch testing of the instruments. After testing, NOAA will shut it down and keep it as an "on orbit spare" until GOES-8 of GOES-9 fails.

Click here for an artist's sketch of GOES-10.

PARTICIPANTS:

NASA, NOAA, Space Systems/Loral, ITT, General Dynamics Space Systems Division.