Harris Corp. has been selected to provide the ground antenna system for a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) program that will enable receipt and processing of weather data 40 times faster than today, as well as delivery of weather images directly to end users.
Under the 10-year, $130 M contract, Harris and its teammates—General Dynamics SATCOM Technologies and ARES—will supply antennas and control systems for NOAA's Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite Series-R (GOES-R) program. The antennas will provide communications links for command, telemetry and sensor data, as well as the communications link to direct data users. The contract includes design, fabrication and testing of six new 16.4-meter antennas and upgrading four 9.1-meter antennas. The 16.4-meter antennas will be installed at the NOAA Wallops Command and Data Acquisition Station in Wallops, VA, and a remote backup site in Fairmont, WV. The new antennas will be built to withstand sustained winds of 110 mph and gusts of up to 140 mph. Upgrade of the 9.1-meter antennas will take place at the NOAA Satellite Operations Facility in Suitland, MD. The new antennas will operate with next-generation GOES-R satellites and will be compatible with existing GOES-N through GOES-P satellites. The antennas are designed to operate continuously for the life of the GOES-R program.