GOES-R to GeoXO: NOAA's Geostationary Satellite Systems Today and through 2050

NOAA’s Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites (GOES) – R Series is now seven years into its operational life with GOES-16 serving as GOES East, GOES-18 serving as GOES West, and GOES-17 in on-orbit storage. Together the GOES-R satellites watch more than half the globe – from the west coast of Africa to New Zealand, and from Antarctica to the Arctic Ocean. This year NOAA will launch the fourth and final satellite of the series, GOES-U, to continue operations into the 2030s.

To ensure the continuity of these critical observations, NOAA has initiated the mission that will follow GOES-R, the Geostationary Extended Observations (GeoXO) program. Pre-formulation activities for GeoXO were concluded in 2021 and resulted in the definition of observational requirements and an architecture for this new system. GeoXO will continue and improve the imagery and lightning mapping from GOES-R, and add hyperspectral sounding, ocean color, and atmospheric composition observations. The program completed a successful System Requirements Review in August 2022 and was approved for implementation by the Department of Commerce Milestone 2 in December 2022. Phase A industry studies for all five instruments and the spacecraft were completed in 2023, and the study results were used to inform the implementation phase requirements. At the time of this conference, the first two development contracts, for the Imager and Sounder, have been awarded. Award of the remaining instrument and spacecraft contracts is planned in the spring of 2024. The program is planning its Mission Definition Review and Key Decision Point B in 2025. The first GeoXO launch is targeted for 2032 and the series is expected to be operational into the 2050s.

This presentation provides a status on GOES-16 and 18 operations, the plans for launch and operational transition of GOES-U, and GeoXO in formulation.