http://washingtontimes.com/national/20040503-103302-1316r.htm

By Lydia Pound
THE WASHINGTON TIMES

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is planning to
launch by the end of the year the first satellites using "star trackers"
instead of Earth sensors to monitor weather patterns more precisely.
Scheduled for release in December, the Geostationary Operational
Environmental Satellite (GOES) series is expected to produce more
precise storm images. The star tracker technology uses the positions of
stars to estimate altitude and requires no information from the ground.
The three satellites in the series will show short-term meteorological
activity, commonly called "now-casting." All GOES satellites, including
four others already in space, hover above one spot on the Earth's
surface as they match the planet's rotational speed 22,300 miles
overhead.
They act as trigger alerts for severe weather such as tornadoes,
flash floods, hailstorms and hurricanes. Their coverage area is about
one-third of the Earth, concentrating on North America and South
America.
With the planned launch, NOAA has said it will retire one of the
satellites in space — GOES-8 — by putting it through the Earth's
atmosphere, where it will incinerate. GOES-8 monitored the eastern and
central United States, the Atlantic Ocean, the Caribbean and the Gulf of
Mexico.

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