GOES-T

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

GOES-T
GOES-T bus formed.jpg
The "brains" and "body" of the GOES-T satellite are merged.
Mission typeWeather and Meteorology
OperatorNOAA / NASA
Mission duration15 years (planned)
Spacecraft properties
SpacecraftGOES
Spacecraft typeGOES-R Series
BusLM-A2100A
ManufacturerLockheed Martin
Launch mass5,192 kg (11,446 lb)
Dry mass2,857 kg (6,299 lb)
Dimensions6.1 × 5.6 × 3.9 m (20 × 18 × 13 ft)
Power4 kW
Start of mission
Launch date1 March 2022, 21:38 UTC (planned) [1]
RocketAtlas V 541
Launch siteCape Canaveral, SLC-41
ContractorUnited Launch Alliance
Entered service15 March 2022 (planned)
Orbital parameters
Reference systemGeocentric orbit
RegimeGeostationary orbit
← GOES-17
GOES-U →
 

GOES-T is the third of the "GOES-R Series", the actual generation of weather satellites operated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), giving sequence to the GOES system. The current and next satellites of the Series (GOES-16, GOES-17, GOES-T, and GOES-U) will extend the availability of the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) satellite system until 2037. The satellite is built by Lockheed Martin in Littleton, Colorado. It is based on the A2100A satellite bus and will have an expected useful life of 15 years (10 operational after five years in orbit replacement).[2]

Benefits and applications[]

The GOES-R Series also continues the legacy Geostationary SAR (GEOSAR) function of the SARSAT system onboard NOAA's GOES satellites which has contributed to the rescue of thousands of individuals in distress. The GOES-R Series SARSAT transponder operates with a lower uplink power than the previous system, enabling GOES-R Series satellites to detect weaker beacon signals.

Redesign[]

In May 2018, NOAA announced that the recently launched GOES-17 satellite was suffering from a severe malfunction in its instrument cooling system which resulted in degraded performance of its infrared sensors. The cause of the problem was determined to be with the loop heat pipe (LHP), which transports heat from the Advanced Baseline Imager (ABI) to a radiator for rejection into space. Since the LHP design was shared among all four GOES-R Series satellites, a redesign was required to prevent the anomaly from happening again on GOES-T and GOES-U. Lockheed Martin had already completed assembly of GOES-T and had to remove the ABI instrument in October 2018 and ship it to its manufacturer, Harris Corporation, to be rebuilt.[3][nb 1]

Launch[]

The satellite was planned to launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS), Florida, United States.[4] Because of the repairs to correct the loop heat pipe problem, the GOES-T launch date slipped. As of November 2021, the launch date is scheduled for 1 March 2022.[1]

GOES-T is planned to have a mass of 2,800 kg (6,200 lb).[5] The NOAA announced plans to move the geostationary weather satellite into an operational role "as soon as possible" by spending two weeks ensuring GOES-T systems perform as expected before moving it into an operational role.[6]

Notes[]

  1. ^ The LHP was actually manufactured by Orbital ATK, which is now a part of Northrop Grumman, while the ABI was built by Exelis Inc., now a part of L3Harris Technologies.

References[]

  1. ^ a b "NASA, NOAA Adjust GOES-T Launch Date". NASA. 18 November 2021. Retrieved 18 November 2021. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  2. ^ "Mission overview". NOAA. January 2021. Retrieved 20 January 2021. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  3. ^ "Lockheed Martin halts work on GOES-T to wait for instrument fix". SpaceNews. 9 January 2019. Retrieved 26 May 2019.
  4. ^ Ray, Justin (22 August 2016). "Sophisticated new U.S. weather observatory being readied for launch". Spaceflight Now. Retrieved 19 October 2016.
  5. ^ Werner, Debra (25 June 2021). "NOAA to replace GOES-17 satellite ahead of schedule". SpaceNews. Retrieved 28 June 2021.
Retrieved from ""