GOES-16, formerly known as GOES-R before reaching geostationary orbit, is the first of the GOES-R series of Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites (GOES) operated by NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). GOES-16 serves as the operational geostationary weather satellite in the GOES East position at 75.2°W, providing a view centered on the Americas. GOES-16 provides high spatial and temporal resolution imagery of the Earth through 16 spectral bands at visible and infrared wavelengths using its Advanced Baseline Imager (ABI). GOES-16's Geostationary Lightning Mapper (GLM) is the first operational lightning mapper flown in geostationary orbit. The spacecraft also includes four other scientific instruments for monitoring space weather and the Sun.
GOES-16's design and instrumentation began in 1999 and was intended to fill key NOAA satellite requirements published that year. Following nearly a decade of instrument planning, spacecraft fabrication was contracted to Lockheed Martin Space Systems in 2008; construction of GOES-16 began in 2012 and lasted until 2014 when the satellite entered the testing phase. After several launch delays, GOES-16 launched from Cape Canaveral on 19 November 2016 aboard a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V. The spacecraft reached an initial geostationary orbit several days later, beginning a yearlong non-operational checkout and validation phase. In November 2017, GOES-16 began a drift to its operational GOES East position, and was declared as fully operational on 18 December 2017. The satellite is expected to have an operational lifespan of ten years, with five additional years as a backup for successive GOES spacecraft.
Background
Instrument conceptualization
The Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) program began as a joint effort between the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in 1975 to develop geostationary weather satellites following the success of the Applications Technology Satellite (ATS) and Synchronous Meteorological Satellite programs beginning in 1966. In the 1999 Operational Requirements Document (ORD) for the Evolution of Future NOAA Operational Geostationary Satellites, NOAA listed instrument requirements for the next generation of GOES imager and sounder. Top priorities included continuous observation capabilities, the ability to observe weather phenomena at all spatial scales, and improved spatial and temporal resolution for both the imager and sounder. These specifications laid the conceptual foundations for the instruments that would eventually be included with GOES-16.
More concrete development of GOES-16 began with the initial designs of an Advanced Baseline Imager (ABI), which started in June 1999 under the direction of Tim Schmitt of the National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service (NESDIS). At its inception, ten spectral bands were considered for inclusion in the new ABI, derived from six instruments on other satellites. In September 1999, the NOAA Research and Development Council endorsed the continued development of the instrument with the suggested bandwidths and frequencies. As the instrument became further realized, the number of potential spectral bands increased from the initial ten, to twelve by October 1999. Alongside the ABI, development also began on the Advanced Baseline Sounder (ABS), which would form a part of a Hyperspectral Environmental Suite (HES) of instruments on the next generation GOES satellites. Like the ABI, the HES also marked significant improvements in resolution and spatial coverage. Initial forecasts were for the ABI to be included as part of GOES beginning with the projected launch of GOES-Q in 2008.