NASA said on June 18 that it awarded Lockheed Martin‘s [LMT] Littleton, Colo., operation a $2.27 billion contract for the next generation weather satellite constellation–Geostationary Extended Observations (GeoXO)– for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
This cost-plus-award-fee deal “includes the development of three spacecraft as well as four options for additional spacecraft,” NASA said. “The anticipated period of performance for this contract includes support for 10 years of on-orbit operations and five years of on-orbit storage, for a total of 15 years for each spacecraft. The work will take place at Lockheed Martin’s facility in Littleton and NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.”
Lockheed Martin said that GeoXO “will continue and expand upon critical observations of weather provided by the Lockheed Martin-built GOES-R series geostationary satellites to include new observations of our oceans and air pollution.”
“GeoXO’s new capabilities will deliver more accurate weather forecasting and address emerging environmental issues and challenges that threaten our economy and safety,” the company said. “GeoXO and the nation’s weather satellites are vital infrastructure for national resilience.”
GeoXO is to aid NOAA in providing “better, more accurate information on severe weather patterns, marine ecosystems, air quality and our changing climate,” Lockheed Martin said.
The first GeoXO launch is to be in the early 2030s, the company said.