NOAA is preparing for the procurement of the next-generation GOES series to continue its mission to provide forecasts and warnings for the United States, its territories, adjacent waters and ocean area for the protection of life and property and enhancement of the national economy. The first satellite of this new series, designated as GOES-R, will provide the first major improvement in instrument technology since GOES-I was launched in 1994. The GOES-R series will introduce other new technologies in both the Space and Ground Segments. These advances will improve the nation's ability to monitor and forecast weather and environmental phenomena with a significant increase in the number of products. Complexity, availability requirements and cost considerations will drive GOES-R operations towards increasing automation compared to earlier GOES systems.

The set of user requirements for this series is currently specified in the GOES-R Mission Requirements Document. These were derived from the GOES-R Level 1 Requirements Document using a process established by NOAA as overseen by the NOAA Program Management Council, the NOAA Observing System Council, and the GOES-R Operational Requirements Working Group. These requirements identify Key Performance Parameters, legacy GOES end-products, and new GOES-R end-products. These requirements were used to determine the program budget for the development and implementation of the entire series, and therefore must be carefully controlled to ensure that the total program remains affordable. Any further requests for new observational requirements or end-products need to be submitted to the GOES-R Program Office via established processes. This presentation will describe these processes along with recommendations for which process would be most suitable for different types of requests.