GOES-R: Next Generation Weather Satellite

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Two GOES-R Instruments Complete Spacecraft Integration

Two of the six instruments that will fly on NOAA's first Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite - R (GOES-R) satellite have completed integration with the spacecraft. The Solar Ultraviolet Imager (SUVI) and Extreme Ultraviolet and X-ray Irradiance Sensors (EXIS) were installed on the sun-pointing platform. They will observe the sun and space weather, including coronal mass ejections, solar flares and ion fluxes that can disrupt power grids, communication and navigation systems and create radiation hazards.

“This development highlights the forward progress underway to complete the installation of the space weather instrument suite onto the GOES-R spacecraft,” said Pam Sullivan, GOES-R Flight Project Manager at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland. “It is critical we give our partners at NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center the tools they need to improve prediction capabilities and further our knowledge of space weather.

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Two GOES-R Instruments Complete Spacecraft Integration

In addition to monitoring weather on Earth, the GOES-R satellites will monitor weather in space caused by electromagnetic radiation and charged particles released from solar storms on the Sun. Many people rely on space weather data, including pilots, farmers, satellite operators, electric power workers, and astronauts.

Credit: NASA

Source: NASA - Multimedia