Since the 1960s, geostationary and polar-orbiting environmental satellites have been used by the United States to provide meteorological data for weather observation, research, and forecasting. NOAA’s National Environmental Satellite Data and Information Service (NESDIS) is responsible for managing the civilian geostationary and polar-orbiting satellite systems as two separate programs, called GOES and the Polar Operational Environmental Satellites, respectively. Unlike polar-orbiting satellites, which constantly circle the earth in a relatively low polar orbit, geostationary satellites can maintain a constant view of the earth from a high orbit of about 22,300 miles in space. NOAA operates GOES as a two-satellite system that is primarily focused on the United States (see fig. 1). These satellites are uniquely positioned to provide timely environmental data to meteorologists and their audiences on the earth’s atmosphere, its surface, cloud cover, and the space environment. They also observe the development of hazardous weather, such as hurricanes and severe thunderstorms, and track their movement and intensity to reduce or avoid major losses of property and life. Furthermore, the satellites’ ability to provide broad, continuously updated coverage of atmospheric conditions over land and oceans is important to NOAA’s weather forecasting operations. To provide continuous satellite coverage, NOAA acquires several satellites at a time as part of a series and launches new satellites every few years. Three satellites—GOES-11, GOES-12, and GOES-13—are currently in orbit. Both GOES-11 and GOES-12 are operational satellites, while GOES-13 is in an on-orbit storage mode. It is a backup for the other two satellites should they experience any degradation in service. The others in the series, GOES-O and GOES-P, are planned for launch over the next few years. NOAA is also planning a future generation of satellites, known as the GOES-R series, which are planned for launch beginning in 2012. Each of the operational geostationary satellites continuously transmits raw environmental data to NOAA ground stations. The data are processed at these ground stations and transmitted back to the satellite for broadcast to primary weather services both in the United States and around the world, including the global research community. Raw and processed data are also distributed to users via ground stations through other communication channels, such as dedicated private communication lines and the Internet. Figure 2 depicts a generic data relay pattern from the geostationary satellites to the ground stations and commercial terminals. To date, NOAA has procured three series of GOES satellites and is in the planning stages to acquire a fourth one (see table 1). In 1970, NOAA initiated its original GOES program based on experimental geostationary satellites developed by NASA. While these satellites operated effectively for many years, they had technical limitations. For example, this series of satellites was “spin-stabilized,” meaning that the satellites slowly spun while in orbit to maintain a stable position with respect to the earth. As a result, the satellite viewed the earth only about 5 percent of the time and had to collect data very slowly, capturing one narrow band of data each time its field-of-view swung past the earth. A complete set of sounding data took 2 to 3 hours to collect. In 1985, NOAA and NASA began to procure a new generation of GOES, called the GOES I-M series, based on a set of requirements developed by NOAA’s National Weather Service, NESDIS, and NASA, among others. GOES I-M consisted of five satellites, GOES-8 through GOES-12, and was a significant improvement in technology from the original GOES satellites. For example, GOES I-M was “body-stabilized,” meaning that the satellite held a fixed position in orbit relative to the earth, thereby allowing for continuous meteorological observations. Instead of maintaining stability by spinning, the satellite would preserve its fixed position by continuously making small adjustments in the rotation of internal momentum wheels or by firing small thrusters to compensate for drift. These and other enhancements meant that the GOES I-M satellites would be able to collect significantly better quality data more quickly than the older series of satellites. In 1998, NOAA began the procurement of satellites to follow GOES I-M, called the GOES-N series. This series used existing technologies for the instruments and added system upgrades, including an improved power subsystem and enhanced satellite pointing accuracy. Furthermore, the GOES-N satellites were designed to operate longer than its predecessors. This series originally consisted of four satellites, GOES-N through GOES- Q. However, the option for the GOES-Q satellite was cancelled based on NOAA’s assessment that it would not need the final satellite to continue weather coverage. In particular, the agency found that the GOES satellites already in operation were lasting longer than expected and that the first satellite in the next series could be available to back up the last of the GOES-N satellites. As noted earlier, the first GOES-N series satellite— GOES-13—was launched in May 2006. The GOES-O and GOES-P satellites are currently in production and are expected to be launched in July 2008 and July 2011, respectively. NOAA is currently planning to procure the next series of GOES satellites, called the GOES-R series. This series will consist of four satellites, GOES- R through GOES-U, and is intended to provide the first major technological advance in instrumentation since the first satellite of the GOES I-M series was launched in 1994. NOAA is planning for the GOES-R program to improve on the technology of prior GOES series, in terms of both system and instrument improvements. The system improvements are expected to fulfill more demanding user requirements and to provide more rapid information updates. Table 2 highlights key system-related improvements GOES-R is expected to make to the geostationary satellite program. The instruments on the GOES-R series are expected to significantly increase the clarity and precision of the observed environmental data. NOAA plans to acquire five different types of instruments. The program office considers two of the instruments—the Advanced Baseline Imager and the Hyperspectral Environmental Suite—to be most critical because they will provide data for key weather products. Table 3 summarizes the planned instruments and their expected capabilities. The program management structure for the GOES-R program differs from past GOES programs. Prior to the GOES-R series, NOAA was responsible for program funding, procurement of the ground elements, and on-orbit operation of the satellites, while NASA was responsible for the procurement of the spacecraft, instruments, and launch services. NOAA officials stated that this approach limited the agency’s insight and management involvement in the procurement of major elements of the system. Alternatively, under the GOES-R management structure, NOAA has responsibility for the procurement and operation of the overall system— including spacecraft, instruments, and launch services. NASA is responsible for the procurement of the individual instruments until they are transferred to the overall GOES-R system contractor for completion and integration onto the spacecraft. Additionally, to take advantage of NASA’s acquisition experience and technical expertise, NOAA located the GOES-R program office at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. It also designated key program management positions to be filled with NASA personnel (see fig. 3). These positions include the deputy system program director role for advanced instrument and technology infusion, the project manager for the flight portion of the system, and the deputy project manager for the ground and operations portion of the system. NOAA officials explained that they changed the management structure for the GOES-R program in order to streamline oversight and fiduciary responsibilities, but that they still plan to rely on NASA’s expertise in space system acquisitions. Satellite programs are often technically complex and risky undertakings, and as a result, they often experience technical problems, cost overruns, and schedule delays. We and others have reported on a historical pattern of repeated missteps in the procurement of major satellite systems, including the National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS), the GOES I-M series, the Space Based Infrared System High Program (SBIRS-High), and the Advanced Extremely High Frequency Satellite System (AEHF). Table 4 lists key problems experienced with these programs and is followed by a summary of each program. NPOESS is being developed to combine two separate polar-orbiting environmental satellite systems currently operated by NOAA and the Department of Defense (DOD) into a single state-of-the-art environment monitoring system. A tri-agency program office—comprised of officials from DOD, NOAA, and NASA—is responsible for managing this program. Within the program office, each agency has the lead on certain activities. NOAA has overall program management responsibility for the converged system and for satellite operations; DOD has the lead on the acquisition; and NASA has primary responsibility for facilitating the development and incorporation of new technologies into the converged system. Since its inception, the NPOESS program has encountered cost overruns and schedule delays. Specifically, within a year of the contract award, the program cost estimate increased by $1.2 billion, from $6.9 billion to $8.1 billion, and the expected availability of the first satellite was delayed by 20 months. We reported in September 2004 that these cost increases and schedule delays were caused, in part, by changes in the NPOESS funding stream. Subsequently, in November 2005, we reported that problems in the development of a critical sensor would likely cause program costs to grow by at least another $3 billion and the schedule for the first launch would likely be delayed by almost 3 years.