The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) typically deploys a new generation of geostationary satellites every two decades. Geostationary satellites operated by NOAA’s National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service (NESDIS) continuously observe the Western Hemisphere to detect and monitor weather conditions and environmental hazards. NOAA’s current two-satellite operational geostationary mission, the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites R Series (GOES-R Series), is expected to end in the early 2030s. In 2019, NESDIS began defining requirements for its next geostationary mission, Geostationary Extended Observations (GeoXO); NOAA expects GeoXO to continue and improve upon GOES-R Series observations. A Department of Commerce Office of Inspector General investigation conducted between July 2024 and December 2025 identified that the GeoXO program had made adequate progress. In particular, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, which serves as the acquisition agent, had awarded contracts for all GeoXO instruments (five instruments) and spacecraft (six satellites) between 2023 and 2024. In 2025, the Trump Administration determined that GeoXO had unsustainable costs and directed NOAA to cancel all existing GeoXO contracts. The Administration directed NOAA to recompete the contracts as firm-fixed-price contracts for fewer satellites (four instead of six) and for only certain instruments—an infrared and visible imaging instrument and a hyperspectral infrared sounder. The Trump Administration argues that the GeoXO program modifications serve two primary objectives. First, eliminating two spacecraft and terminating certain instruments (i.e., an atmospheric composition instrument, an ocean color instrument, and a lightning mapping instrument) from the mission would reduce the program’s cost. Second, the modifications would refocus the mission on weather, thereby excluding observations that would apply directly to climate, atmospheric composition, and the ocean. NOAA aims to launch the first GeoXO satellite in 2032, and it remains unclear whether these modifications would impact NOAA’s launch timeline. At issue for Congress are NOAA’s current progress on the GeoXO mission and whether modifications to the mission would create a geostationary satellite observation data gap—either through a potential launch delay of the first GeoXO satellite or due to delays caused by the modified satellite architecture. A data gap could impact NOAA’s future weather services for the United States—geostationary satellite observations support the statutory requirements of the National Weather Service to protect life and property. Furthermore, Congress appropriated funds to NOAA for five new instruments with the expectation that these instruments would advance weather, climate, coastal, and ocean observations. The elimination of three instruments could reduce the opportunity for forecasting and research advances, according to some stakeholders.
Full content not yet available.