GOES to the PoleGOES to the PoleLars Peter Riishojgaard/UMBC & Dennis Chesters/NASALars Peter Riishojgaard/UMBC & Dennis Chesters/NASA

Geostationary-class meteorological imager in a Molniya orbitGeostationary-class meteorological imager in a Molniya orbit

Busted forecasts do occur Busted forecasts do occur because unobserved polar because unobserved polar winds move into lower latitudeswinds move into lower latitudes

Polar cloud and water vapor Polar cloud and water vapor features have been tracked features have been tracked

with time-series satellite with time-series satellite images in MODIS bandsimages in MODIS bands

•Molniya orbit is perfectly semi-geosynchronousMolniya orbit is perfectly semi-geosynchronous•Highly eccentric Kepler orbit Highly eccentric Kepler orbit

–Apogee height 39750 km (geostationary orbit height ~36000 km)Apogee height 39750 km (geostationary orbit height ~36000 km)–Perigee height ~600 kmPerigee height ~600 km–Inclination 63.4 degreesInclination 63.4 degrees–Orbital period ~11h 58m (half a sidereal day)Orbital period ~11h 58m (half a sidereal day)

•Location of apogee w.r.t. Earth is fixed and stable!Location of apogee w.r.t. Earth is fixed and stable!•Platform in quasi-stationary imaging position near the apogee for about two thirds of the duration of the orbitPlatform in quasi-stationary imaging position near the apogee for about two thirds of the duration of the orbit•Used extensively by USSR (to a lesser degree by the US) for communications purposesUsed extensively by USSR (to a lesser degree by the US) for communications purposes•First suggested for meteorological applications by Kidder and Vonder Haar (1990)First suggested for meteorological applications by Kidder and Vonder Haar (1990)

Polar (>60N) coverage eliminates Polar (>60N) coverage eliminates the high latitude gap in satellite-the high latitude gap in satellite-

determined global windsdetermined global winds

Low-risk mission at PDR levelLow-risk mission at PDR level

Science TeamScience Team•Lars Peter Riishojgaard, UMBC, PILars Peter Riishojgaard, UMBC, PI•Bob Atlas, NOAA, Simulation/impact experimentsBob Atlas, NOAA, Simulation/impact experiments•Dennis Chesters, GSFC, Instrumentation, missionDennis Chesters, GSFC, Instrumentation, mission•Ken Holmlund, EUMETSAT, Algorithm developmentKen Holmlund, EUMETSAT, Algorithm development•Jeff Key, NESDIS/ORA, Data processing, polar productsJeff Key, NESDIS/ORA, Data processing, polar products•Stan Kidder, CIRA, High-latitude applicationsStan Kidder, CIRA, High-latitude applications•Arlin Krueger, UMBC, Volcano monitoringArlin Krueger, UMBC, Volcano monitoring•Paul Menzel, NESDIS/ORA, Cloud applicationsPaul Menzel, NESDIS/ORA, Cloud applications•Jean-NoJean-Noël Thépaut, ECMWF, Global NWP applicationsël Thépaut, ECMWF, Global NWP applications•Chris Velden, CIMSS/UW, Algorithm developmentChris Velden, CIMSS/UW, Algorithm development•Tom Vonder Haar, CIRA, Satellite meteorologyTom Vonder Haar, CIRA, Satellite meteorology

Science TeamScience Team•Lars Peter Riishojgaard, UMBC, PILars Peter Riishojgaard, UMBC, PI•Bob Atlas, NOAA, Simulation/impact experimentsBob Atlas, NOAA, Simulation/impact experiments•Dennis Chesters, GSFC, Instrumentation, missionDennis Chesters, GSFC, Instrumentation, mission•Ken Holmlund, EUMETSAT, Algorithm developmentKen Holmlund, EUMETSAT, Algorithm development•Jeff Key, NESDIS/ORA, Data processing, polar productsJeff Key, NESDIS/ORA, Data processing, polar products•Stan Kidder, CIRA, High-latitude applicationsStan Kidder, CIRA, High-latitude applications•Arlin Krueger, UMBC, Volcano monitoringArlin Krueger, UMBC, Volcano monitoring•Paul Menzel, NESDIS/ORA, Cloud applicationsPaul Menzel, NESDIS/ORA, Cloud applications•Jean-NoJean-Noël Thépaut, ECMWF, Global NWP applicationsël Thépaut, ECMWF, Global NWP applications•Chris Velden, CIMSS/UW, Algorithm developmentChris Velden, CIMSS/UW, Algorithm development•Tom Vonder Haar, CIRA, Satellite meteorologyTom Vonder Haar, CIRA, Satellite meteorology

LifetimeLifetime 36 months (60 month goal)36 months (60 month goal)

OrbitOrbit 718 min Molniya @ 63.4 degree inclination718 min Molniya @ 63.4 degree inclination

Visible channelVisible channel 0.55-0.88 micron @ 1 km resolution0.55-0.88 micron @ 1 km resolution

Infrared channelsInfrared channels 3.9, 6.3, 7.1, 11.0, 12.0 microns @ 2 km resolution3.9, 6.3, 7.1, 11.0, 12.0 microns @ 2 km resolution

Radiometric precisionRadiometric precision Vis 500:1 SNR @ 100%, IR 0.2K @ 300K or 0.5K @ 250 KVis 500:1 SNR @ 100%, IR 0.2K @ 300K or 0.5K @ 250 K

Radiometric accuracyRadiometric accuracy Vis 6%, IR 1 KVis 6%, IR 1 K

Field of RegardField of Regard >24 degrees + star field>24 degrees + star field

Time for full-disk imageTime for full-disk image <15 minutes<15 minutes

Input powerInput power <180W (including 20% contingency)<180W (including 20% contingency)

MassMass <136 kg (including 30% contingency)<136 kg (including 30% contingency)

VolumeVolume <0.9 m X 1.2 m X 1.3 m<0.9 m X 1.2 m X 1.3 m

GOES-like instrument characteristicsGOES-like instrument characteristics