NASA awarded a $2.27-billion contract to Lockheed Martin to develop and build a new weather-satellite constellation for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Geostationary Extended Observations (GeoXO) missions.
The contract calls for Lockheed to deliver three spacecraft and includes options for four more.
The GeoXO spacecraft is based on Lockheed Martin's modernized LM2100™ satellite bus, and incorporates Lockheed’s SmartSat™ technology that will accommodate new software pushes and capabilities as data needs change over time.
"Our team is excited and ready to move forward to design and field this critical national capability," stated Kyle Griffin, Lockheed’s v.p. and gen. mgr. of Commercial Civil Space. "Our GeoXO design draws heavily from what we've learned with GOES-R spacecraft over the last 15 years, while incorporating new, digital technologies not only onboard the vehicles but in the design and development of this powerful, weather-monitoring platform of the future."
The first GeoXO launch is planned for the early 2030s, and the satellite constellation will support NOAA's geostationary observations through the late 2050s.
The GeoXO mission will extend the weather observation service provided by the Lockheed Martin-built GOES-R Series geostationary satellites – which collect atmospheric, hydrologic, oceanic, climatic, solar, and space data – adding new observations of oceans and air pollution, and deliver more accurate weather-forecasting information plus environmental data.
The launch of the fourth and final spacecraft in the series, GOES-U, is scheduled for June 25, 2024 from NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Florida.
