The Geostationary Imaging Fourier Transform Spectrometer (GIFTS) was successfully developed under the NASA New Millennium Program, 2000-2006. The program produced and tested an Engineering Demonstration Unit (EDU) that proved the GIFTS design capable of achieving a revolutionary new capability for simultaneously sounding and imaging distributions of atmospheric water vapor, temperature, carbon monoxide and ozone from geosynchronous orbit. This achievement sets the stage for a major advance in nowcasting and regional numerical weather forecasting for severe storms.

The GIFTS EDU was implemented with key technological components that were flight qualified or that could be qualified following standard spaceflight approaches. These technologies will be summarized with emphasis on the role they play in achieving the highly demanding GIFTS requirements on accuracy, temporal coverage rates, spatial footprint, and vertical resolution. Also, results of thermal vacuum testing and ground-based atmospheric testing will be presented to demonstrate GIFTS radiometric performance characteristics.

While the implementation of GIFTS and operational geosynchronous sounding by NASA and NOAA has been delayed, we believe it is inevitable that this technology will ultimately offer the observational basis for transforming severe weather forecasting. Plans for operational use of the GIFTS approach are proceeding in Europe and in Asia, and we expect the capability will be considered a critical global capability for the evolving Global Earth Observing System of Systems (GEOSS).

As recommended by the Decadal Survey and many other high-level groups, serious planning for a joint NASA and NOAA effort to demonstrate this capability in space should be started as soon as possible.