Science Archives - USRadioguy.com

End Of Life for NOAA 15 and 19?….not so fast…

June 13, 2025August 3, 2025 Carl

UPDATE 07-31-2025 End of an Era: Decommissioning the Legacy POES Satellites The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has officially wrapped up End-of-Life (EOL) testing for NOAA-15 and NOAA-19, signaling the imminent decommissioning of these two venerable spacecraft. As the last operational platforms in the enduring NOAA Polar Operational Environmental Satellites (POES) constellation, their retirement marks a significant transition. … Delve Deeper “End Of Life for NOAA 15 and 19?….not so fast…” »

GOES-19 CCOR-1 Coronagraph Preliminary Non Operational Data

February 8, 2025February 8, 2025 Carl

Interesting stuff you should know!, Satellites, Science, Space Weather

Until GOES-19 is fully operational (currently expected April 4th), all animations and data are preliminary and non-operational. Beginning February 6, 2025, the Space Weather Prediction Center is presenting new coronagraph images from the GOES-19 Compact Coronagraph-1 (CCOR-1). The images are updated every 15 minutes and are displayed as an animation (CCOR-1 Coronagraph) on the Space Weather … Delve Deeper “GOES-19 CCOR-1 Coronagraph Preliminary Non Operational Data” »

NOAA’s CCOR-1: A New Eye on the Sun

October 23, 2024October 23, 2024 Carl

News, Satellites, Science, Space Weather

Revolutionizing Space Weather Forecasting The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has recently shared groundbreaking imagery captured by the Compact Coronagraph (CCOR-1), a cutting-edge solar telescope aboard the GOES-19 satellite. This marks a significant milestone in space weather research, as CCOR-1 is the world’s first operational, space-based coronagraph, providing continuous observations of the sun’s outermost … Delve Deeper “NOAA’s CCOR-1: A New Eye on the Sun” »

Libera, a new instrument for JPSS NOAA-22

September 11, 2024September 11, 2024 Carl

Interesting stuff you should know!, Launch News, Satellites, Science

Libera: A New Era of Earth Radiation Budget Monitoring JPSS-4, which will be renamed NOAA-22 in orbit, will be the next JPSS satellite to launch, with a launch readiness date of 2027. In addition to the four instruments already flying on NOAA-21, JPSS-4 will include Libera, an instrument that will improve our understanding of trends in Earth’s energy … Delve Deeper “Libera, a new instrument for JPSS NOAA-22” »

The Day NOAA-19 Toppled

July 12, 2024August 11, 2025 Carl

Hardware, Interesting stuff you should know!, News, Satellites, Science

A $233 Million Whoops: The Story of the Ill-Fated NOAA N-Prime Satellite We’ve all had those moments at work where a simple mistake snowballs into a bigger problem. But for Lockheed Martin in 2003, a seemingly minor oversight during a routine procedure resulted in a major disaster – and a hefty price tag – involving … Delve Deeper “The Day NOAA-19 Toppled” »

GOES-East Transition Plan

July 10, 2024July 15, 2024 Carl

Satellites, Science

Swap of GOES-16 and GOES-U/19 GOES-U Launched on June 25, 2024, NOAA has created a Transition to Operations (T2O) plan that they will follow along with NASA, and private sector partners like Lockheed Martin, Space X, and L3 Harris. The T20 is provisional based upon a timely and successful launch. Key Points and dates for … Delve Deeper “GOES-East Transition Plan” »

Steady as she GOES

July 9, 2024July 30, 2024 Carl

Hardware, Interesting stuff you should know!, News, Satellites, Science

Keeping GOES-R steady: Updated 07/09/2024The GOES-R satellites employ active pointing control systems utilizing onboard gyroscopes and star trackers for real-time determination of their attitude (orientation). This enables precise and continuous adjustments of their scanning mirrors to acquire high-resolution Earth imagery. This information comes from two sensors: Combining these inputs, GOES-R can constantly adjust its mirrors … Delve Deeper “Steady as she GOES” »

The new CCOR instrument aboard GOES-U

July 7, 2024July 10, 2024 Carl

Hardware, Satellites, Science

Updated July 7, 2024 Our Sun, a colossal ball of plasma, is a dynamic entity, constantly emitting flares, eruptions, and streams of charged particles. Among these phenomena are Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs), massive expulsions of solar material that can travel millions of miles per hour and pose significant risks to Earth’s infrastructure and technology. To … Delve Deeper “The new CCOR instrument aboard GOES-U” »

GEONETCast Americas

July 7, 2024July 10, 2024 Carl

Hardware, Imagery Processing, Interesting stuff you should know!, Satellites, Science, Software

Update July 7th 2024 GEONETCast Americas (GNC-A) is a low-cost, user-friendly information dissemination service that distributes satellite-based data to diverse communities in the Western Hemisphere. The service aims to provide global information as a basis for sound decision-making in a number of critical areas, including biodiversity, disaster resilience, energy, food security, infrastructure, public health, sustainable … Delve Deeper “GEONETCast Americas” »

The Kessler Syndrome

July 6, 2024September 23, 2024 Carl 2 Comments

Interesting stuff you should know!, News, Satellites, Science, Space Weather

Updated July 6, 2024 On 11 January 2007, China conducted an anti-satellite missile test. A China weather satellite—the FY-1C polar-orbiting satellite of the Fengyun series, at an altitude of 865 kilometers (537 mi), with a mass of 750 kilograms (1,650 lb) —was destroyed by a kinetic kill vehicle traveling at a speed of 8 km/s (18,000 mph) in the opposite direction. A Head-On Engagement attack like this has … Delve Deeper “The Kessler Syndrome” »