The Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites (GOES) Data Collection System (DCS) supports the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers’ flood risk management mission, which delivers, on average, over $200 billion of value to the country per year. DCS relays signals from 40,000 platforms on Earth that measure environmental information like water height, wave height, air quality, wind speed, and temperature. DCS provides eight million observations per day and monitors surface water, groundwater, stream flow, river levels, and precipitation to predict flooding and manage dams, locks, and levees. The DCS system provides ocean current information allowing vessels to plan travel to save fuel by traveling with the currents instead of against them. DCS also monitors ocean height for storm surge and tsunami warnings, aiding emergency response preparations. NOAA provides flood data to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and its partners, including DoD, for responses to domestic disasters like the April 2025 flooding of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers. During one of the recent storms to hit Texas, the primary Army command for domestic disaster response prioritized their relief efforts using NOAA flooding maps. The Army National Guard also relied on Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) data for coordinating the response to floods in 2019.

Surveying The Seas

The Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard operate in high winds, punishing waves, and extreme temperatures. Maritime navigation requires environmental intelligence of potential risks and obstacles that would be impossible to see without satellite data. NOAA satellites provide data necessary for forecasting tropical cyclones, severe storms, wave heights, wind prediction, high-tide flooding, and visibility.

Accurate information helps protect tens of billions of dollars of American assets in personnel, weapons, systems, and vehicles. Proper weather forecasting is critical for preserving supply chains against disruption when time is of the essence. “Wars are won through logistics,” Steven Morani, Acting Assistant Secretary of Defense for Sustainment, told the Worldwide Logistics Symposium. Extreme weather exacerbates the need for robust planning and access to supplies.

LEO satellites have a unique view of the polar regions due to their paths over the north and south poles. Satellites can survey ice thickness, which is of particular interest to submariners. JPSS tracks melting sea ice, which is hazardous for ships. In some areas, ice melt opens new routes, which increases international traffic through the Arctic Circle. In others, thinning ice packs shed more loose chunks. In the last 20 years, the safe transit season of the Beaufort Sea north of Alaska has halved as large sheets of broken-up ice choke shipping lanes.