User needs and the future of operational meteorological satellites

Applications of the TIROS-N and GOES satellites are reviewed, and requirements for the next generation of meteorological satellites are discussed. TIROS N spacecraft were a joint effort of the U.S., U.K., and France, and carried instrumentation which provided information on oceanographic and hydrologic processes, agricultural products, meteorology, and digital imaging. The GOES satellites give continuous viewing of weather features and collect and relay meteorological data from remote platforms such as buoys, ships, stations, aircraft, and balloons. The next generation of GOES spacecraft are also intended for GEO, and instruments will provide imaging in the IR and visual with 1-2 and 0.5 km resolution, respectively, multispectral imaging, vertical temperature resolution in the troposphere to 1-5 km, and have solar X ray sensing capabilities, as well as for the atmospheric electron density. Further instrumentation additions and choice of orbits are examined, noting that a careful consideration of the capital return on investment will be required before any decision to fly new meteorological spacecraft.