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Aviation History
1986
1986 - 0020.PDF
SPACEFLIGHT Good future forecast for Goes WASHINGTON D.C. Weather satellites under development by Ford Aero space for Nasa and the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) will provide better short-term forecasting and accurate local storm warn ings. Under a $276 million contract Ford is building three geostationary oper ational environment satel lites, Goes I, J and K, for launch by Shuttle starting in 1989. The contract includes options for two more satellites, Goes L and M. Each spacecraft will have a five- year design life. Unlike earlier spin- stabilised Goes craft built by Ford and Hughes Aircraft, the latest Goes series is three-axis stabilised, based on tech nology proven on Ford's Insat I satellite for India. The change allows spacecraft SOLAR ARRAY T&C ANTENNA EARTH SENSORS S BAND TRANSMIT ANTENNA SOUNDER APERTURE IMAGER APERTURE SAR ANTENNA SOLAR SAIL sensors to stare continuously at the Earth. ITT is supplying the imager and sounder sensors which will operate simultaneously to produce Earth images and temperature profiles. Full Earth disc measurements will be produced every half hour in five different spectral bands with a resolution in the visible band of 1km, says Ford. Goes craft are procured and tested in orbit by Nasa then handed over to NOAA for operation. Ford built the first three Goes craft. Goes 1 was launched in October 1975 and operated until early 1985, exceeding its three-year design life by 65 years. The Goes craft will supple ment the Sarsat-Cospas inter national search and rescue programme which by mid- 1985, when declared fully operational, had successfully located 194 distress calls worldwide, resulting in the rescue of 473 people. How to save a drowning mar 511 r
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