NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) have awarded a $423 million contract to Hughes Space and Communications, El Segundo, CA, for the manufacture, launch and delivery on-orbit of up to four weather-monitoring Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites (GOES).
The procurement of the GOES-N through -Q spacecraft marks the
extension of this multi-satellite program designed to provide
continuous monitoring of the Earth’s weather systems and the
related space environment. The new spacecraft will be used to
continue and enhance the functions of the current GOES I-M series
of spacecraft.
GOES spacecraft are a mainstay of modern weather forecasting,
providing meteorologists and hydrologists with visible and
infrared images of weather systems, and precise atmospheric
soundings. They orbit above the equator at a height of 22,238
miles, stationed at 75 degrees west longitude and 135 degrees west
longitude to provide broad views of the Atlantic and Pacific
oceans where storms can be monitored while first forming.
The basic contract value of $423.1 million provides for two
spacecraft, GOES-N and -O, at a fixed total price. There are
separate, fixed-price options for two additional spacecraft, GOES-
P and -Q, priced at $190.9 million and $185 million, respectively.
Along with these options, there are additional, separately
priced potential contract costs. They include Government-directed
task assignments; additional integration and test support;
changes to Government-furnished equipment deliveries; program-
related launch vehicle changes; directed launch delays (due
primarily to on-orbit satellites lasting longer than expected) and
related spacecraft ground storage; and post-storage testing.
The GOES program is a partnership between NOAA and NASA’s
Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD. NOAA is responsible
for program management and budget, determining the technical
requirements for the spacecraft, operating the spacecraft in orbit
and disseminating the resulting data. The NASA Goddard GOES
project office is responsible for the acquisition of the
spacecraft and oversight of the contract, and will support NOAA
during the post-launch operations phase.
The first spacecraft purchased under this contract will be
ready for launch in October 2001. GOES N-Q will carry an Imager
and a Sounder to provide regular measurements of Earth’s
atmosphere, cloud cover and land surfaces. Two of them also will
carry a Solar X-ray Imager and Space Environment Monitor instruments.
