Imager

The Serial Number 09 GOES-O Imager satisfies the NOAA primary mission imagery requirements and was built and tested at ITT in Fort Wayne, Indiana. It is similar to the GOES-N Imager and was delivered to Boeing by NASA/GSFC and integrated onto GOES-O. Like the GOES-N Imager the SN09 Imager has evolutionary improvements incorporated to reduce single point failures; improve launch vehicle environments flexibility; added thermal shields to the secondary mirror structure to remove health and safety concerns relating to scanning operations during eclipse periods; and takes advantage of cooler operational set points for infrared detectors provided by the spacecraft accommodation clearer view of and improved thermal radiation to space. The Imager blackbody dwell time increased from 0.2 to 2 seconds as compared to the GOES-12 Imager and this helps reduce potential image striping. The GOES-O&P Imagers have improved resolution in the 13 micrometer channel from 8 km to 4 km. This finer spatial resolution allows an improved cloud-top product, height of atmospheric motion vectors and volcanic ash detection. The first official GOES-13 visible full disk image was taken on June 22, 2006 and is located at this web site.  Back to Top

Sounder

The Serial Number 09 GOES-O Sounder was built and tested at ITT in Fort Wayne, Indiana and satisfies the NOAA atmospheric sounding multi-spectral mission visible and infrared sensing requirements. It was delivered to Boeing by NASA/GSFC and integrated onto GOES-O. The GOES-NOP Sounders have likewise incorporated low risk evolutionary improvements to improve channel to channel coregistration; add thermal shields to the secondary mirror structure to remove health and safety concerns relating to scanning operations during eclipse periods; reduce single point failures; improve launch vehicle environments flexibility; and take advantage of cooler operational set points for infrared detectors provided by the spacecraft accommodation clearer view of and improved thermal radiation to space.
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Solar X-ray Imager

The GOES-NOP Solar X-Ray Imager (SXI) contract was awarded in 1997 to Lockheed Martin Advanced Technology Center in Palo Alto, California for two firm flight models with options and associated ground support equipment and services. Three units have been successfully delivered and integrated for flight on the GOES-NOP Series of spacecraft. The first official GOES-13 SXI image was taken on July 6, 2006, and is located at this web site. The GOES-13 SXI experienced an anomaly on December 5, 2006, after looking at a strong solar flare longer than recommended. An exceptionally active solar region 930 rotated onto the solar disk at a time when solar cycle 23 was theoretically approaching minimum levels. On December 5, 2006, at 10:18 UT region 930 generated an X9 flare. Region 930 continued to generate flares over the ensuing two weeks and resultant ion storms were also recorded by GOES. The GOES-13 SXI sustained damage to several pixels of its CCD detector while observing this X9 flare event. The source of the damage was the large X-ray flux of the flare convolved with the observing sequence. The susceptibility of the SXI CCD detector to radiation damage was not well understood or adequately operationally constrained. Eight lines of pixels across the CCD are damaged and are unlikely to fully recover. Operational constraints and updates to on-board observing sequence software should enable the SXI to continue its mission without further damage to its detector. The impact on observations and predictioning is being assessed as new sequence software and operational constraints are developed. Ground algorithms will be developed to minimize the appearance of the 'lost' lines through interpolation or other means. Corrective actions have been implemented in operational constraints and automated fault protection software is being developed to prevent such an anomaly from occurring in the future and extend the life of the SXI CCD detector arrays. For further information contact Dr. Steven Hill with NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center or see GOES-13 and other SXI solar images at http://sxi.ngdc.noaa.gov/sxi_greatest.html.

The GOES-13 SXI entrance filter is degrading in orbit and an improved entrance filter design was developed in the last year. New SXI entrance filters were space qualified and were installed on the GOES-O SXI instrument to better assure NOAA’s ability to meet newer SXI observing goals over the minimum 5 years of SXI required operations in orbit.
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Space Environment Monitor

The main GOES-NOP Space Environment Monitor (SEM) subcontract was awarded by Boeing in 1998 to GE Panametrics (now Assurance Technology Corporation) in Carlisle, Massachusetts. The contract includes instrument packages to be flown on each of the spacecraft in the series and includes in situ measurements of the magnetic and particle environments as well as remote measurement of the integrated X-ray emission and the extreme ultraviolet (EUV) spectra of the Sun. These units have all been delivered and integrated for flight on the GOES-NOP spacecraft. The two GOES-O magnetometers were provided by Boeing subcontract to Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) in Columbia, Maryland. To provide stable magnetic field measurements independent of the spacecraft field, dual magnetometers are near the end of a deployable boom that is more than 8 meters long. The GOES-N SEM instruments have all been activated and the EUV and the X-ray Sensor (XRS) appropriately responded to the M2 level solar flare that was observed on July 6, 2006. The XRS instrument experienced a failure on November 5, 2006, that appears to be due to a random part failure. That same suspect part is not used in the GOES-O&P XRS instruments plus additional confidence testing has been done to better assure adequate part reliability. Back to Top