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Lockheed Martin's New Satellite Technology Will Better Predict Storms

LITTLETON, Colo. (CBS4) – CBS4's Ed Greene and Justin McHeffey on Wednesday went to Lockheed Martin in Littleton to get a first look at new technology designed to better predict how much snow a blizzard could drop in Colorado, or when a tornado could develop.

Meteorologists from all over the world are going to use the GOES-R technology that will be aboard a spacecraft being built in Colorado. It's Lockheed Martin's hope to launch the new satellite in early 2016.

NEXT GENERATION WX SAT
Scientists at Lockheed Martin (credit: CBS)

"In 1994 was the last upgrade, so when we launch in 2016, the technology has advanced so much," GOES-R Flight Project Manager Pam Sullivan said. "The imager that we've put up is the equivalent of a high-definition TV."

The current cloud images used on Doppler 4000 will be improved to higher resolution -- from detailed pictures of developing hurricanes, to monitoring drought conditions, to planning ahead for the next blizzard.

In Colorado studies have found that an increase in the frequency of lightning is often the sign of a strengthening thunderstorm. So the updated lightning mapping system could help give more advanced tornado warnings.

Lockheed Martin Ed Greene, Justin McHeffey
A group at Lockheed Martin including Ed Greene, 2nd from left, and Justin McHeffey, 3rd from left (credit: CBS)

The GOES-R imager, built by Exelis, will be five times faster at taking pictures and processing data than the current satellite. That puts more time between people and a storm.

"When the public sees it on television, and they see these rapid images, loops racing across the screen, they're going to be glued to the television," GOES-R Program Chief Scientist Steve Goodman said.

According to McHeffey, the satellite looks very delicate, but it's being built to withstand a launch into space.

LINK: GOES-R

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