Hourly sounding data from GeoXO is projected to improve regional forecasting accuracy by up to 40%, according to NOAA.
The GeoXO Sounder (GXS) is one of three instruments on NOAA’s next-generation Geostationary Extended Observations (GeoXO) satellite network. GeoXO will enhance weather and environmental forecasting, potentially providing significant societal and economic benefits into the 2050s.
GXS will use hyperspectral infrared sounding to provide real-time information about the vertical distribution of atmospheric moisture, temperature and winds over the Western Hemisphere. The data from GXS will enable a significant leap forward in forecasting severe storms like tornados due to its high resolution and rapid refresh rate. GXS sounding data is expected to improve sensing rates ten-fold over current observations, helping to decrease weather prediction error over the United States and improve regional forecast accuracy, according to NOAA.
NASA selected BAE Systems to develop NOAA’s GXS instrument. The contract scope includes the tasks and deliverables necessary to design, analyze, develop, fabricate, integrate, test, verify, evaluate, support launch, supply and maintain the instrument ground support equipment, and support mission operations at the NOAA Satellite Operations Facility.