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Radio Frequency Interference affecting GOES-16/GOES-18

By Scott Bachmeier •

GOES-16 “Clean” Infrared Window images, from 1650-1730 UTC on 01-06 March [click to play animated GIF | MP4]

Every Spring and Fall Equinox season, a brief period of solar Radio Frequency Interference (RFI) occurs whenever the Sun passes into the beam of a GOES ground station receiving antenna (2023 NOAA ESPC Notification). This RFI can cause a temporary degradation or even a complete loss of data reception. The exact time of RFI will vary somewhat on a given day, depending on where the GOES receiving antenna is located.

During the Spring of 2024, Full Disk images showed that the time of maximum RFI signal loss was 1700 UTC on 01-05 March for GOES-16 (GOES-East) (above), and 2140 UTC on 02-05 March for GOES-18 (GOES-West) (below).

GOES-18 “Clean” Infrared Window images, from 2130-2150 UTC on 02-06 March [click to play animated GIF | MP4]

Categories: Calibration/Anomalies, GOES-16, GOES-18