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Introducing GOES-I: The First of a New Generation of Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites
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1994
Year
Environmental MonitoringEngineeringSatellite CommunicationNew GenerationEarth ScienceGeophysicsCalibrationSystems EngineeringGeostationary SatellitesInstrumentationSatellite ImagingGeodesySatellite NetworkGeostationary OrbitSynthetic Aperture RadarSatellite Signal ProcessingGeographyEarth Observation DataRadarRemote SensingGoes-i SpacecraftSatellite Data ProcessingGoes-i Imagery
GOES‑I, scheduled for launch in spring 1994, represents a major advance in NOAA’s geostationary remote‑sensing fleet, featuring an earth‑oriented design, separate imaging and sounding instruments, higher‑resolution multispectral radiometry, a more sensitive sounder, a new data format, and an upgraded ground‑processing system. This article outlines GOES‑I’s spacecraft and instrument features, imaging and sounding schedules, data‑handling systems, and the remote‑sensing products it will deliver. The authors present simulations of GOES‑I imager and sounder products and compare them with those from GOES‑7. The simulations indicate that GOES‑I imagery, derived products, and sounder outputs will offer markedly improved coverage frequency and accuracy.
In the spring of 1994, the first of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA's) next generation of geostationary satellites, GOES-I, is scheduled for launch. The introduction of this major component of NOAA's modernization represents a significant advance in geostationary remote sensing. All major components of the GOES-I system are new or greatly improved: 1) the satellite is earth oriented to improve instrument performance; 2) sounding and imaging operations are now performed by different and separate instruments; 3) a five-band multispectral radiometer with higher spatial resolution improves imaging capabilities; 4) a sounder with higher radiometric sensitivity enables operational temperature and moisture profile retrieval from geostationary altitude for the first time; 5) a different data format is used to retransmit raw data to directreceive users; and 6) a new ground data processing system handles the high data volume and distributes advanced products to a variety of users. This article describes the features of the GOES-I spacecraft and instruments, imaging and sounding schedules, data handling systems, and remote sensing products. Simulations of GOES-I imager and sounder products are presented and compared with GOES-7 products. The simulations show that GOES-I imagery, derived product images, and sounder products should be significant improvements in both frequency of coverage and accuracy.