More accurate storm prediction: Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites (GOES-N)

"Designed and built at Boeing’s Satellite Development Center in El Segundo, Calif. for NASA and NOAA, the GOES-N series spacecraft are based on the popular three-axis Boeing 601 model satellite. Technology on the GOES-N spacecraft will improve image accuracy by a factor of four using a more stable instrument platform and a more precise control system based on a geosynchronous star sensor attitude determination and control system know as a “star tracker.”


The capabilities aboard the GOES-N satellite will provide more accurate prediction and tracking of severe storms and other weather phenomena, resulting in earlier and more precise warnings to the public. GOES-N will support NOAA and NASA scientists collecting and analyzing real-time environmental data, as well as rescuers responding to calls for help with the assistance of a communication subsystem that includes search and rescue capability to detect distress signals from land, sea and air.


Boeing’s four-decade knowledge and experience in weather and Earth-observation space systems underpins the next-generation environmental system in support of the NOAA’s strategic mission of assessing and predicting environmental changes, protecting life and property, and providing decision-makers with reliable climate information."