NOAA’s GeoXO program. Photo: NOAA

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) awarded a contract to BAE Systems to build the Ocean Color Instrument (OCX) for its Geostationary Extended Observations (GeoXO) satellite constellation.  The new OCX contract means that BAE Systems will now build all three hyperspectral instruments for the mission, including  the GeoXO Sounder (GXS), and the Atmospheric Composition Instrument (ACX), based on its own modular systems designs.

NOAA is developing the GeoXO constellation over the next 10 years to broaden and improve on observations made by its current Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites-R series (GOES-R) of weather satellites. NOAA hopes to launch the new constellation as GOES-R nears the end of its planned mission.

BAE Systems is developing the OCX instrument as a hyperspectral imager that will make high-spatial resolution observations of the Great Lakes and wide swaths of the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), a massive 4 million square feet of ocean expanding about 200 miles off American coastal regions.

“By imaging ocean and lake environments across a spectrum of ultraviolet to near-infrared light, the instrument will provide the most comprehensive data ever collected on the region’s water quality, ocean biology and chemistry, ecosystem changes, and more. OCX will also provide more frequent observations than previous instruments, collecting complete surveys every two hours to reduce issues like cloud cover and allow scientists to monitor quickly changing conditions,” BAE Systems said in the announcement.

Financial details of the contract were not disclosed.