GOES-12 Update (23 July, 2013):  GOES-12 decommissioning is scheduled for August 16, 2013.

GOES-12 Cycle Slip (8 June, 2012):  The GOES-12 Imager electronic side switch was completed as scheduled on June 6, 2012 during the housekeeping period between 1615 UTC and 1645 UTC.  The switch has successfully improved the imagery and mitigated the cycle slip issue.  For a review of the cycle slip issue, please visit the SSEC web site: http://cimss.ssec.wisc.edu/goes/blog/archives/10528  During the GOES-12 imager side switch, the sounder ground system was accidentally pointed to a wrong set of scan mirror emissivity coefficients which resulted in small errors in the broadcasted sounder data between the times of June 6, 2012 at 16:15 UTC to June 7, 2012 at 16:15 UTC.  Customers should be aware of this data error; although, the errors did fall within specification.  The original decision to switch the GOES-12 (GOES-South America) Imager electronics side was based on the manufacturer's recommendation as a potential remedy to mitigate cycle slips.  GOES-12 (GOES-South America) had a 5-year expected life span, but it has been in service for more than 9 years and is showing serious signs of aging.  In late April 2012, imager cycle slips increased to daily occurrences, corrupting on average 3-5 frames every day and spreading to 15-20 frames per day during the past week.  A cycle slip is the shifting of a segment of the image approximately 5.6 degrees (1 imager cycle) to the east or west.  It occurs due because imager electronics lose count of the scan mirror position.  These segment shifts can happen more than once in the same image as the instrument corrects itself during a space look and then repeats the same anomaly at a later time.  Please see http://cimss.ssec.wisc.edu/goes/blog/archives/10307 for an example.  Please note: Imager Side 2 electronics has a different set of detectors, so users could use the new side-2 offline calibration coefficients and/or the new look-up table to convert GOES-12 Imager GVAR data into brightness temperatures.  A new look-up table and calibration coefficients for the side-2 detectors have been calculated and are available on the OSPO Calibration website:  http://www.oso.noaa.gov/goes/goes-calibration/gvar-conversion.htm  Please remember to use the new coefficients or the look-up table after June 6, 2012 at 1615 UTC.

GOES-12 XGOHI Update (14 November 2011): GOES-12 is located at 60W and providing routine Imager and Sounder data, running the GOES-South America schedules (See links below). GOES-12 (GOES-South America) Imager will be transitioned to XGOHI (eXtended GOES High Inclination) operations, effective November 14, 2011 at 1915 UTC.  Without XGOHI, the growing satellite inclination would continue to cause loops with an ever increasing "wobble".  At this point and based on a number of factors, GOES-12 is not expected to operate past May of 2013.

GOES-10 Paper (25 February 2009):   Schmit, T. J., R. M. Rabin, A. S. Bachmeier, J. Li, M. M. Gunshor, H. Steigerwaldt, A. J. Schreiner, R. M. Aune, and G. S. Wade, 2009: Many uses of the geostationary operational environmental satellite-10 sounder and imager during a high inclination state (2.6Mb PDF), Journal of Applied Remote Sensing, Vol. 3, 033514.

GEOSS in the Americas refers to the efforts of governments and others to support the realization of the Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS) in the Western Hemisphere. GEOSS is a global effort to achieve comprehensive, coordinated, and sustained observations of the Earth system. GEOSS in the Americas provides a conceptual, umbrella framework to highlight existing collaborative efforts among governments, private industry, NGOs, and academia throughout the Western Hemisphere that support the aims of GEOSS, and to serve as a catalyst for new regional initiatives and cooperative opportunities.

NOAA's GOES-12 team aims to coordinate NOAA’s efforts in making the satellite available; to work with international partners to ensure that GOES-12 data can be received, distributed and utilized in the region; and to connect GOES-12 activities to regional cooperation and GEOSS in the Americas.

An Ad hoc GOES-12 Operations Committee consists of representatives from Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, El Salvador, Honduras and Peru participated. Membership is open to all governments with agencies that plan to use GOES-12 data. The objectives of the Ad hoc GOES-12 Operations Committee are to 1) recommend changes in the operations of GOES-12, 2) give technical recommendations in the case of unexpected events, 3)serve as a means of communication between NOAA and the users of the satellite data, 4) organize and discuss aspects related to GOES-12 such as data recording, data dissemination, product dissemination and training events.