The History and Evolution of the ABI (Advanced Baseline Imager) on the GOES-R Series

The evolution of the next generation Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES)-R Advanced Baseline Imager (ABI) will be covered. As with any instrument, the ABI leverages heritage instruments and the input from many. These heritage instruments include aircraft instruments, previous GOES, other geostationary sensors, and both research and operational polar-orbiters. The ABI began as a proposed eight-channel imager, all with fairly wide instrument spectral responses. Over time, eight more bands were added to better meet the stated requirements. In general, the spectral bands were made narrower. The ABI will improve upon the current GOES Imager with more spectral bands (factor of 3), higher spatial resolution (factor of 4), faster imaging (factor of 5), better navigation, and more accurate calibration. The next generation geostationary satellite series will offer a continuation of current products and services and enable improved and new capabilities. This includes a greatly improved monitoring of tropical cyclones. The ABI on the GOES-R series will monitor the weather, oceans, climate, and the environment. Other instruments on the GOES-R series include the Geostationary Lightning Mapper (GLM) and the Solar UV Imager (SUVI) for imaging the sun.