Commerce Department OKs Next Geostationary Satellite Acquisition Program

The Department of Commerce has cleared a joint NASA-National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration program to acquire spacecraft that will follow the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite R Series.

The agencies can now start the contracting process to build a Geostationary Extended Observations system and associated instruments, NOAA’s National Environmental Satellite Data and Information Service said Thursday.

NOAA intends for the next-generation weather monitoring satellite platform to carry instruments that will collect visible imagery at night and data on Earth’s atmospheric composition, ocean color and hyperspectral soundings.

The agency expects the GeoXO system to be operational when the GOES-R Series constellation moves closer to the end of its projected lifetime in the early 2030s.

Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) manufactured the GOES-R satellites, while L3Harris Technologies (NYSE: LHX) built the primary imaging and ground systems.

NASA will oversee efforts to build and launch future satellites intended for weather monitoring, while NOAA will manage operations and data delivery work.

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