Last satellite of the GOES-R series launches on Tuesday

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) – 3-2-1 launch! The final weather satellite in the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites R-series (GOES-R) was launched Tuesday night at 5:26 p.m. from Cape Canaveral, Fla. Part of this satellite was developed right here in Fort Wayne.

L3Harris Fort Wayne has again developed the Advanced Baseline Imager (ABI) for this weather satellite. This is one of several ABIs the company has developed for weather satellites.

The Advanced Baseline Imager (ABI) looks at the Earth in 16 different channels, from the visible to the longwave part of the electromagnetic spectrum. The imager provides data showing Earth’s weather, environment, oceans and cloud details, allowing meteorologists to make higher quality weather forecasts.

Developing the part is a long, extensive process. It requires cutting-edge technology and takes about two years to manufacture. Once construction is complete, rigorous testing is required to ensure the imager can withstand the harsh conditions of geostationary orbit 22,000 miles above Earth.

Tests include a bench test that tests all the functions of the instrument, an environmental test that mimics the space environment the camera will be exposed to, a vibration test that simulates the violent shocks of rocket launch, and a thermal vacuum test that exposes the camera to the vacuum of space and daily cycles of hot and cold temperatures.

The ABI was then connected to the GOES-U satellite, which was launched on Tuesday and is the last satellite in the GOES-R satellite series. GOES-U will become GOES-19 and later GOES-East once it is in orbit. It will send images of the entire continental United States, South America and the weather over the Atlantic Ocean. This satellite is the size of a small school bus, weighs over 2.7 tons, has a five-panel solar array and seven state-of-the-art instruments.

After launch on Tuesday, it will take three weeks for the satellite to reach geostationary orbit. This will be followed by a degassing phase lasting several weeks. Then the optical port will be opened and we will receive a first image. After this, further tests will be carried out in orbit as systems need to be checked and the satellite calibrated. It is estimated that the satellite will be fully operational in early 2025 and will remain in orbit for ten years.

Chris Reith, program manager for the Advanced Baseline Imager at L3Harris, says, “I think it’s just very important that we get the message out there of the technology and the work that’s being done to protect our country’s citizens and property from severe weather and wildfires and all of that… and all of that is being developed here in Fort Wayne. So I think everyone should be very, very proud of the contributions they’ve made to this generation of imagers and they should be very excited to work on the next generation of payloads for our country to keep it safe and protect property and lives.”

L3Harris currently has six ABIs in orbit. Four of them are in orbit with the GOES-R series, plus one Japanese and one Korean imager.

The company is pleased to have been selected for the next generation that will replace the GOES-R satellites, called GeoXO. L3Harris will build the imager for this new series. This imager will be more advanced, with two additional channels (18 in total) and a resolution increased by a factor of four on seven of the channels. It is expected to be ready for launch by 2032.

Click here to follow the rest of the GOES-U launch. For more information on L3Harris, follow this link.