GOES N, The First of the Next Series–User Community Upgrades

At present Hughes Space and Communications is building the GOES - N satellite for a launch scheduled no earlier than the fall of 2002. This Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) is the first in the GOES N-Q series and will differ from the GOES I-M satellites presently in orbit. This paper will discuss upgrades and changes provided by the GOES N-Q series, including the GOES VARiable format (GVAR), Weather Facsimile (WEFAX), the Data Collection System (DCS), the Search and Rescue (SAR) transponder, and the Emergency Managers Weather Information Network (EMWIN) transponder. The major changes are the WEFAX which will be converted from analog to digital and EMWIN which will be changing frequency as it moves to its own transponder. Minor changes will occur in the other data streams to support the new transponders and minor changes in the instrument data.