Mons Morrison, SXI program manager at Lockheed Martin's Advanced Technology Center stated, "The first image is magnificent! While the other GOES instruments provide near constant viewing of the earth, SXI will monitor the sun and provide vital information regarding solar activity."

Ken Luczaj, President of Goodrich's Optical and Space Systems division added, "We are extremely happy with the successful operation of the SXI instrument and are proud to be part of NOAA's important mission to continuously monitor both earth and solar activity."

This initial operation and imagery collection from the instrument initiates the post-launch engineering check-out phase of the telescope. The GOES-13 SXI instrument is the highest resolution solar imager currently on orbit covering the x-ray spectrum. As the SXI telescope is a precision instrument, check-out and verification of the data and imagery may take up to six months to complete before the system is declared operational.

After checkout, NASA will turn GOES-13 over to NOAA for on-orbit storage until it is needed to replace either GOES-12 or GOES-11. Once operational, the SXI instrument will be instrumental in providing early detection and characterization of solar disturbances, allowing both NOAA and the U.S. Air Force the ability to issue advanced warnings to satellite operators, ground- based communications system operators and others adversely affected by such phenomena.

Goodrich's Electro-Optical Systems team was responsible for the design, fabrication and verification of five space-qualified telescope mirror assemblies for the SXI program. The SXI telescope has a wide field-of-view, providing high-resolution imagery over the entire solar disk including the important coronal region.

The SXI telescope has super-smooth mirror surfaces fabricated using Goodrich processes originally developed for the Chandra x-ray telescope, allowing the SXI instrument to achieve high contrast imagery over the x-ray spectrum where sunspots, solar flares and coronal mass ejections can be observed.

Goodrich's Electro-Optical Systems team, headquartered in Danbury, Conn., has a long history in the design and fabrication of highly complex x-ray telescope systems, including the first space-based imaging x-ray telescope for the Einstein (HEAO-2) observatory.

ITT Instruments Produce Visible And IR Images From GOES-N Satellite

ITT has announced that the GOES-N satellite, in orbit 22,300 miles above the equator and carrying primary payload instruments produced by ITT's Space Systems Division, has transmitted its first visible and infrared (IR) images of Earth.

The GOES-N, now called GOES-13, is the latest in a series of Earth-monitoring Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites built for NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). It was launched on May 24 aboard a Boeing Delta IV rocket, reached orbit on May 31, and, after a period of testing, transmitted its initial visible image on June 22 and is now providing both visible and infrared images.

The GOES array of satellites monitors the Earth's atmosphere in visible and infrared wavelengths. By measuring moisture content and tracking weather systems, they provide data to meteorologists to help improve the accuracy of forecasts.

As a contractor to NASA on the GOES-N project, ITT built the imager and sounder that acquire the high-resolution visible and infrared data, as well as temperature and moisture profiles of the atmosphere.

"ITT is proud to be part of yet another successful GOES mission," said Chris Young, President of the Space Systems Division. "ITT's imager and sounder aboard GOES-13 continually transmit data to ground terminals for processing and broadcasting to weather service offices through the Western Hemisphere."

The ITT imager and sounder provide two valuable features -- (1) flexible scan and (2) simultaneous and independent imaging and sounding.

Flexible scan offers small-scale area imaging that allows meteorologists to take pictures of local weather trouble spots in order to improve short-term forecasts over local areas. Simultaneous and independent imaging and sounding enhances forecast accuracy by providing multiple measurements of weather phenomena.

The imager senses radiant energy and reflected solar energy from the Earth's surface and atmosphere. It can detect changes in temperature and variations in low-level moisture, and it can track hurricanes from their earliest formation as a tropical wave. It allows meteorologists to issue warnings about high-velocity winds or winter storms well in advance of their occurrence.

The multi-spectral sounder uses sensors to collect and identify fluctuations within the Earth's atmosphere. These variations provide critically important data for computer models that help produce mid- and long- range forecasts.

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