NASA has selected L3Harris Technologies (NYSE:LHX) to develop a concept for the next generation of geostationary weather imagers which will help advance future severe storm tracking, weather forecasting, climate and other Earth Observations (EO).
L3Harris will develop an imager design, as well as conduct technology development and analysis for the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Geostationary and Extended Orbits (GEO-XO) satellite system. The GEO-XO mission will eventually replace the agency’s current Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-R (GOES-R) series of weather satellites, which includes the L3Harris-built primary payload.
Supported by NASA, NOAA’s GEO-XO program is scheduled for launch in the early 2030s. L3Harris is the industry-leading provider of weather sensors flown by U.S. and international customers, such as NOAA’s Advanced Baseline Imager for the GOES-R satellite series, Cross Track Infrared Sounder for the Joint Polar Satellite System, Japan’s Advanced Himawari Imagers for the Himawari mission, and South Korea’s Advanced Meteorological Instrument for GEOKompsat-2a.
The L3Harris GEO-XO next-generation imager will include additional spectral bands, higher spatial resolution, and improved data compression algorithms. These features, combined with flexible and efficient scan capabilities, will provide improved severe storm tracking, weather forecasting, enhanced fire/smoke detection, as well as other vital benefits to government users, scientists and our nation.
“L3Harris will leverage its five decades of engineering and manufacturing experience building space-based imaging systems to develop the next-generation weather satellite concept,” said Ed Zoiss, President, Space and Airborne Systems, L3Harris. “The new imager will support NOAA’s efforts to continually improve Earth observations from geostationary orbit—a critical capability which protects the lives and property of our nation’s citizens.”