Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites: Improvements Needed in Continuity Planning and Involvement of Key Users
The Department of Commerce's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), with the aid of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), is to procure the next generation of geostationary operational environmental satellites, called Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-R (GOES-R) series. The GOES-R series is to replace the current series of satellites, which will likely begin to reach the end of their useful lives in approximately 2015. This new series is considered critical to the United States' ability to maintain the continuity of data required for weather forecasting through the year 2028. GAO was asked to (1) determine the status of the GOES-R acquisition; (2) evaluate whether NOAA has established adequate contingency plans in the event of delays; and (3) assess NOAA's efforts to identify GOES data users, prioritize their data needs, and communicate with them about the program's status. To do so, GAO analyzed contractor and program data and interviewed officials from NOAA, NASA, and other federal agencies that rely on GOES data.
Recommendations
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Department of Commerce | To improve NOAA's ability to maintain geostationary satellites continuity and improve efforts to involve key GOES data users, the Secretary of Commerce should direct the NOAA Administrator to develop and document continuity plans for the operation of geostationary satellites that include the implementation procedures, resources, staff roles, and timetables needed to transition to a single satellite, an international satellite, or other solution. |
NOAA agreed with this recommendation and has since developed a continuity plan that generally includes these elements. Specifically, NOAA's plan identifies steps it would take in transitioning to a single or international satellite, the amount of time this transition would take, roles of product area leads, and resources such as imaging product schedules, disk imagery frequency, and staff to execute the changes.
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| Department of Commerce | To improve NOAA's ability to maintain geostationary satellites continuity and improve efforts to involve key GOES data users, the Secretary of Commerce should direct the NOAA Administrator to establish processes for satellite data requirements definition and prioritization to include documented input from external federal agencies that rely on GOES data on future satellite acquisitions. |
NOAA agreed with this recommendation and established a process to define and prioritize satellite observational requirements. NOAA chaired an intergovernmental task force, which incorporated input from over 10 external federal agencies with existing observing system investments. In July 2014, this task force produced a plan with ranked priorities for use of satellite observations. According to NOAA, it has since established a team to assess all observational requirements related to its environmental satellites, and will use the results of the 2014 plan to define the next generation satellite architecture that will meet these requirements.
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| Department of Commerce | To improve NOAA's ability to maintain geostationary satellites continuity and improve efforts to involve key GOES data users, the Secretary of Commerce should direct the NOAA Administrator to establish and implement processes to notify these agencies of GOES-R program status and changes. |
NOAA agreed with this recommendation. In February 2012, the agency developed a communications plan for the GOES-R program that described how external stakeholders would be notified of the program's progress, status changes, and other relevant activities. In addition, the GOES-R System Program Director provided annual briefings to the Office of the Federal Coordinator for Meteorology in October 2010 and November 2011 to communicate to federal GOES data users important program changes and status.
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