GOES Team honored with Gears of Government Award
14 September 2020 -
From Performance.gov's awards story:
Pam Sullivan, Dan Lindsey, Harry Cikanek, Joseph Pica, and Vanessa Griffin
used a coordinated approach with innovative techniques to restore the
satellite’s ability to observe critical weather conditions across the
Western Hemisphere, such as severe storms, hurricanes, fires, and volcanic
activity, with minimal data loss. This team’s response to the crisis restored
the value of the nation’s $1 billion investment and provided a vital asset for
meeting the National Weather Service’s mission.
Shortly after GOES-17 launched, engineers discovered a severe problem
with the satellite’s primary instrument for imaging the Earth’s weather,
oceans, and atmosphere. The thermal system of the Advanced Baseline Imager
(ABI) was not carrying the expected heat load from the instrument electronics
to the radiator, resulting in the infrared detectors over-heating and
becoming unable to observe Earth at certain times and seasons, over certain
channels.
Team members
In response to this crisis, a multi-disciplinary and multi-organizational
team of experts assembled to investigate the issue and optimize the
instrument’s performance. The team modified the way ABI functions,
allowing it to operate at higher temperature thresholds. They also
implemented periodic spacecraft maneuvers to reduce the amount of heat
from the Sun directly striking the ABI. In addition, new cooling operations
were put in place to keep the instrument from overheating. Recovering the
functionality of an instrument flying in space 22,300 miles above Earth was
a daunting task, but the GOES-17 ABI optimization team expertly met the
challenge. Their efforts led to an extraordinary recovery of the
instrument’s capabilities – ABI is now delivering 98% of the data it
was designed to provide. As a result, forecasters from the western
continental United States, Alaska, and Hawaii have the critical data they
need to provide the public with timely and accurate weather forecasts
and warnings.
Ottenweller described a recent experience forecasting fog over
southwestern Alaska. Before GOES-17 data was available, forecasters
would have to wait for data from polar-orbiting satellites passing over
Alaska. “Now, not only do I have reliable data, but I can loop that
data. This changes everything,” said Ottenweller.