Improved Space Weather Monitoring for GOES-R

The GOES-R space weather sensors and algorithms will offer unprecedented performance and capabilities for next-generation operational space environmental monitoring. The GOES-R suite of space weather sensors consist of the Space Environment In-situ Suite (SEISS), the Solar UltraViolet Imager (SUVI), the Magnetometer (MAG), the Extreme UltraViolet Sensor (EUVS) and the X-Ray Sensor (XRS). Each sensor has heritage from previous GOES sensors or from NASA programs. This talk will provide a general background on current GOES capabilities and a more focused discussion on GOES-R improvements. The energy range for charged particle measurements for the SEISS will be extended down to 30 eV which is needed to determine spacecraft charging levels. SEISS will also provide new capabilities for measuring the very energetic heavy ion flux which supports the development of environmental specifications for spacecraft design. The new XRS sensor, the predecessor of which has long been used for solar flare classification, will incorporate a quad-diode detector array to monitor flare initiation locations on the solar disk. The EUVS offers improved wavelength resolution to better model the full spectrum of solar ultraviolet irradiance, the variations of which are used as inputs to terrestrial climate models. Specification of the in-situ magnetic field will be improved through the use of two boom-mounted magnetometers and a novel gradiometer technique to mitigate the impacts of locally generated fields. Current solar imaging relies on broad-band x-ray detection of flares and other solar features. Improved capabilities for solar monitoring by the SUVI sensor on GOES-R include; 1) finer spectral resolution and increased dynamic range for improved solar feature classification and 2) better physical plasma parameter extractions for calculating vertical temperature profiles and differential emissions within the solar corona. Level 2+ algorithms under development within the GOES-R Risk Reduction program are posed to exploit the full potential of the GOES-R space weather sensors.