United States Government Publishing Office publisher pbl distributor dst United States Government Accountability Office Accounting and Information Management Division author aut Government Organization text government publication eng GAOREPORTS Legislative Agency Publications gao legislative 2010-08-12 U.S. Government Printing Office 1997-03-13 monographic deposited born digital 60 p. GA 1.13:AIMD-97-37 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-AIMD-97-37 P0b002ee18039e928 f:ai97037 DGPO 2010-08-12 2011-03-28 GAOREPORTS-AIMD-97-37 machine generated eng fdlp REPORT GAOREPORTS-AIMD-97-37 AIMD-97-37 Geosynchronous satellites Weather forecasting Federal procurement Planning Interagency relations Research and development contracts Earth sciences data systems Cost control Aerospace engineering NOAA Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite NOAA/NASA GOES-Next Satellite Program NWS Modernization Program NASA Operational Satellite Improvement Program Atlas Launch Vehicle NOAA GOES I-M Product Assurance Plan NWS Advanced Weather Interactive Processing System NASA Geostationary Advanced Technology Environmental System NOAA Polar Orbiting Weather Satellite System NOAA Television Infrared Observation Satellite NASA Applications Technology Satellite High Resolution Infrared Radiometer Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer NASA New Millennium Program NASA Earth System Science Pathfinder Program NASA Advanced Geostationary Studies Program Chapter Report AIMD Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) management of the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) Program, focusing on: (1) NOAA's strategy for procuring satellites in the GOES continuation series; (2) what steps NOAA should be taking now to prepare for the next generation series of satellites; and (3) whether the potential exists for improving the system and reducing costs in the long term.<p/>GAO noted that: (1) based on the best available analysis, the potential for a gap in geostationary satellite coverage will be significant in the early years of the next century if procurement of new satellites does not begin soon; (2) to prevent this problem, NOAA plans to competitively procure two to four continuation series spacecraft that will carry the same meteorological instruments as the current spacecraft and incorporate modest technical improvements; (3) the satellites are planned for launch beginning in 2002; (4) given the importance of maintaining continuous geostationary weather coverage, NOAA's plans are reasonable; (5) however, there are inherent difficulties in determining exactly when and how many of the continuation series spacecraft will be needed; (6) despite these difficulties, GAO identified several specific shortcomings in NOAA's spacecraft planning process that, if remedied, could improve planning in the future; (7) based on the President's fiscal year (FY) 1998 budget, NOAA does not plan to begin a follow-on GOES program until FY 2003 at the earliest; (8) given that the opportunity now exists to consider alternatives for a follow-on system, current usage of GOES data by weather forecasters suggests that a reexamination of the GOES satellite architecture is warranted; (9) before a decision can be made about what kind of follow-on satellite system to build, an updated analysis of user needs must be completed; (10) several new approaches and technologies for geostationary satellite meteorology have been suggested in recent years by government, academic, and industry experts, however, identifying and evaluating the full range of options will require thorough engineering analysis; (11) in addition, past NOAA experience shows that developing new technologies is done most efficiently as a separate line of effort, outside of the operational satellite program; (12) such an effort would benefit from greater collaboration with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, whose expertise and support have, in the past, significantly contributed to the development of NOAA's weather satellite systems; (13) the longer that NOAA continues without actively considering other options for a future system, the more it risks having to procure additional continuation series satellites, because the availability date for a fully developed new satellite system will slip farther into the future;* https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-AIMD-97-37/html/GAOREPORTS-AIMD-97-37.htm https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-AIMD-97-37/pdf/GAOREPORTS-AIMD-97-37.pdf GAO/AIMD-97-37 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-AIMD-97-37 Chapter Report GAO/AIMD-97-37; Weather Satellites: Planning for the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite Program Needs More Attention; Geosynchronous satellites Weather forecasting Federal procurement Planning Interagency relations Research and development contracts Earth sciences data systems Cost control Aerospace engineering NOAA Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite NOAA/NASA GOES-Next Satellite Program NWS Modernization Program NASA Operational Satellite Improvement Program Atlas Launch Vehicle NOAA GOES I-M Product Assurance Plan NWS Advanced Weather Interactive Processing System NASA Geostationary Advanced Technology Environmental System NOAA Polar Orbiting Weather Satellite System NOAA Television Infrared Observation Satellite NASA Applications Technology Satellite High Resolution Infrared Radiometer Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer NASA New Millennium Program NASA Earth System Science Pathfinder Program NASA Advanced Geostationary Studies Program