GOES-R spacecraft/instrument overview

The Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-R (GOES-R) is a high performance evolutionary follow-on satellite system to the existing GOES-I/M and NOP series satellites currently operating over the Western Hemisphere. The first GOES-R satellite is planned for launch in 2015 with expected operational integration into the existing system by 2017. The high-level GOES operational concept is for the simultaneous operation of two satellites distributed over the 75 degrees west and 137 degrees west orbital locations. These satellites, along with one on-orbit spare located over central CONUS, allow for continuous monitoring of the Western Hemisphere and adjacent oceans.

The GOES-R series spacecraft bus will be 3-axis stabilized (like GOES-I through P) and designed for an on-orbit lifetime of 15 years including up to 5 years of on-orbit storage and 10 years of operational life. Additionally, the satellites may be stored on the ground for up to five years. The spacecraft bus provides mechanical support and alignment of the various instrument payloads, communications payloads and other bus components. Sun-pointing instruments will be mounted on a solar array platform that will track the Sun in elevation.

The spacecraft will have autonomous fault detection and correction capability, enabling it to survive the occurrence of any credible single component failure or processor upset. The spacecraft processor will be capable of stored command and table loads that permit extended periods of autonomous operation without ground interaction.

With an emphasis on increased operational availability, the GOES-R series will dramatically reduce the time instrument performance will be out of specification due to spacecraft housekeeping or maneuvers. The cumulative time that imaging will be interrupted as a result of all momentum management, E/W stationkeeping, N/S stationkeeping, and yaw flip maneuvers will be under 120 minutes per year. This is compared to more than 4000 minutes per year for maneuvers and momentum management for the GOES-N series spacecraft.

This presentation will provide a brief overview of spacecraft and instrument operational features planned for the GOES-R system with an emphasis on operational impacts to the end-users of GOES-R data.