NASA Selects Geostationary and Extended Orbits Imager Phase A Contracts

NASA has selected L3Harris Technologies Inc. of Fort Wayne, Indiana, and Raytheon Company of El Segundo, California, for the Geostationary and Extended Orbits (GEO-XO) Imager (GXI) Phase A Study contracts. The GXI Phase A Study requirement will provide services to help meet the objectives of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) GEO-XO program.

The total value of each of these one-year firm-fixed price contracts is approximately $6M. The work will be performed at the contractors' facilities in Indiana and California.

The principal purpose of these contracts is to provide a definition-phase study of a geostationary Imager instrument. The Imager will be an infrared and visible imaging instrument that is planned to fly on the NOAA GEO-XO program series of geostationary satellites, with the first launch planned for 2032.

NOAA’s GEO-XO mission is the groundbreaking development of a satellite system that will advance Earth observations from geostationary orbit. The mission will supply vital information to address major environmental challenges of the future in support of weather, ocean, and climate operations in the United States. The GEO-XO system will continue and expand observations provided by the GOES-R series of satellites. GEO-XO will bring new capabilities to address emerging environmental issues and challenges that threaten the security and well-being of every American. NOAA is working to ensure these critical observations are in place by the early 2030s, as the GOES-R Series nears the end of its operational lifetime.

The GEO-XO program is a collaborative partnership between NASA and NOAA. NOAA funds, operates, and manages the program, and NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, develops and acquires the mission system including management of the acquisition of the Phase A formulation contracts.