A vision for a National global Operational Environmental Satellite system (NGOESS)

The NOAA/NESDIS has been conducting studies to see if user requirements can be met by a single constellation of satellites that would provide high spatial, temporal and spectral resolution data every 15 minutes every where in post GOES-R and NPOESS time frame. The current Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites (GOES) at an altitude of 35,000 km provide observations up to local zenith angles of 75 degrees for monitoring severe weather in real time. The Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellites (POES) at an altitude of 833 km complement monitoring in the polar region at a regular time interval. The POES and DMSP (Defense Meteorological Satellite Program) satellites will be merged into a new satellite system referred to as the National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS) which is under development. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) has been supporting this study by analyzing characteristics of Medium Earth Orbits (MEO) as an observation venue to meet user requirements. An optimal altitude of 10,400 km has been selected based on the manageable radiation impacts on the electronics. This paper presents the initial encouraging results in several areas such as: orbit selection, constellation, coverage, revisit time analyses, communications options, scan mechanisms, and instrument concepts.