With over 45 years experience in providing satellite ground data processing and mission command and control systems, Harris Corporation was awarded the Ground Segment portion of the GOES-R (Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite) Systems Acquisition and Operations (A&O) contract by NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) in May 2009. As the prime contractor, Harris is leading a team of industry leaders including Boeing, AER, Honeywell, Carr Astronautics, Wyle labs, and ARES, to provide an innovative, end to end solution for the advanced GOES-R ground segment. The Harris team has the unique and advanced qualifications required to meet and exceed the stringent data receipt and processing, product generation and distribution, and mission command and control requirements of the new generation satellites. The anticipated first launch of the new spacecraft is in 2015.

GOES-R is the next generation of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) ongoing Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) System. The current GOES system consists of 2 operational spacecraft in geostationary orbits over the equator with GOES East located at 75 degrees West longitude, and GOES West, located at 135 degrees West longitude at an altitude of 22,240 miles. Each satellite provides:

• Visual and Infrared full disk Imagery of the Western Hemisphere every 30 minutes, with resolutions of 0.5, 1, and 4 km
• Atmospheric soundings over the western hemisphere
• Continuous monitoring of the space environment

The GOES satellites are the primary tools used for the detection and tracking of hurricanes and other severe weather in the continental United States and western hemisphere.

The Harris team’s ground segment features a low risk, cost effective and high performance architecture that is ready to meet the requirements of the new system today with the flexibility and scalability to be easily expanded to meet the changing needs of the GOES-R mission as they evolve over its more than 20 year lifespan. We look forward to working in partnership with NOAA to deliver this vital operational mission capability on time and in cost.

GOES-R Inquiries:
Frank Misciasci, Frank.Misciasci@harris.com, 321-309-7278.