The GOES series is a primary tool currently used by NOAA to detect and track hurricanes, thunderstorms, tornadoes, and other severe weather in the continental United States and the western hemisphere. The satellites provide the images and time-lapse sequences familiar to most Americans in television weather forecasts.

The next-generation GOES-R system will provide significantly improved image resolution and increase the rate of imagery coverage of earth surfaces from every 30 minutes to every 5 minutes -- and every 30 seconds for severe weather events.

GOES-R advanced sensor technology will measure data such as solar activity, the charged particle environment, the Earth's magnetic field, temperature and moisture profiles, cloud properties, ozone estimates, and solar x-ray flux to support accurate weather forecasting, severe storm tracking, and meteorological research.

The Harris successful ground segment solution for GOES-R is a flexible end-to-end solution that accommodates the expected 45-times increase in data to be ingested, processed and distributed to more than 10,000 direct users, while allowing for continuous improvement and future expansion as the GOES-R mission expands.

The service-based architecture is open, scalable and modular and provides tomorrow capabilities with today technology. Following development and deployment of the ground segment, Harris IT Services would provide operations and support services over the life of the GOES-R program.

"The complete Harris GOES-R team solution has been successfully demonstrated and can be seen functioning today at our GOES-R lab facilities in Melbourne Florida," said Jeremy Wensinger, group president of Harris Government Communications Systems.

"Our forward-looking prototype is based on our 45 years of proven expertise in satellite data processing, command-and- control, and automated product generation and distribution. We are confident our approach offers the best-value solution for supporting the next generation of geostationary weather satellites."

Harris is bidding as prime contractor and systems integrator for the ground segment of the GOES-R system, which includes receiving and processing satellite data, generating and distributing products from satellite data, and command-and-control of orbiting satellites.

Members of the Harris GOES-R pursuit team include Atmospheric and Environmental Research Inc., Boeing Mission Systems, Carr Astronautics, Honeywell Technology Solutions, Northrop Grumman Mission Systems, and Wylie Information Systems LLC.

The ground segment contract for GOES-R is expected to be awarded in the spring of 2009, with the first launch of a GOES-R series satellite scheduled for 2014. The ground segment is slated to run through 2029, including development, operations, and sustainment phases.

Harris is a recognized leader in satellite ground data processing and mission command-and-control systems. The company's ground data processing systems consist of complex suites of hardware and software that receive sensor data from satellites and process it into useable environmental parameters under stringent timelines -- turning the data into useable information.

The company's command-and-control systems feature commercial-off-the-shelf design and high levels of flexibility. Designed for government and commercial applications, they support single-satellite missions as well as the largest and most complex satellite fleets deployed today.

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