Geostationary Weather Satellites: Next Generation Program Challenges Put Vital Observations at Risk

Geostationary weather satellites provide critical information on atmospheric conditions, including severe storms and hurricanes. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is working on acquiring the next generation of these satellites, called GeoXO.

Starting in 2025, NOAA restructured the GeoXO program. It reduced the number of satellites and cut costs from $19.6 billion to $13 billion.

But this program needs to document its new cost estimates. It also needs to fully incorporate lessons learned from prior programs—including contingency planning to address gaps in satellite weather data.

Our recommendations address these issues.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) initially planned for the Geostationary Extended Observations (GeoXO) program to be a series of six satellites with a projected lifecycle cost of $19.6 billion. In August 2025, Commerce directed the GeoXO program office to implement a major restructuring to reduce lifecycle costs, and in April 2026 Commerce approved the program’s new baseline. This new baseline reduces the number of satellites from six to four, decreases the number of instruments from five to two (see figure), and is expected to reduce the program’s lifecycle cost to $13 billion.

Instrument Changes for the Geostationary Extended Observations Program, as of April 2026

If the first GeoXO satellite launches as expected in 2032, there is a risk of a gap in the continuity of satellite data. NOAA’s policy requires at least two operational satellites and one operational spare to be available to ensure the continuity of data. The current spare satellite is projected to meet the end of its life in October 2032, several months before the first GeoXO satellite is fully operational. There may be a period of several months when NOAA does not have an operational spare satellite. If either of the two operational satellites were impaired during that time, there would be a gap in geostationary weather data (see figure).