GeoSTAR: developing a new payload for GOES satellites

The geostationary synthetic thinned aperture radiometer (GeoSTAR) is a new concept for a microwave sounder, intended to be deployed on NOAA's next generation of geostationary weather satellites, the GOES-R series - due to first launch in 2012. This will fill a serious gap in our remote sensing capabilities of long standing - a key capability that NOAA is book keeping at the top of its list of "pre-planned product improvements" for GOES-R - i.e. the most urgently needed additional payload, which will be added as soon as funding has been allocated and programmatic issues resolved. A ground based prototype has been developed at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, under NASA Instrument Incubator Program sponsorship, and is currently undergoing tests and performance characterization. GeoSTAR is expected to go forward as a space mission within the next decade