GOES-R Storyboard/Script Scene Video Audio/VO/Source Opening Graphic Animation LMSSC GOES-R animation/NOAA GOES Footage/Artbeats thunderstorm footage News Clippings 1906 Newspaper clips from Galveston Historical Society Galveston Hurricane aftermath photos, Source Galveston Historical Society VO: (MALE VO talent Brad Behan AS ISAAC CLINE) Sunday, September 9, 1900, revealed one of the most horrible sights that ever a civilized people looked upon. Where 20,000 people lived on the 8th, not a house remained on the 9th. About three thousand homes had been completely swept out of existence, and probably more than six thousand persons had passed from life to death during that dreadful night. (Source: Isaac Cline, UNITED STATES WEATHER BUREAU OFFICE, GALVESTON, TEXAS) Max Mayfield on camera statements :The largest loss of life in any hurricane in the United States was the great Galveston hurricane in 1900 and the forecaster in charge of the Galveston… office at the time, a man by the name of Isaac Cline… had no tools… had no satellites. He was really blind back in those days. NOAA Historical Footage in filmstrip montage/FEMA historical hurricane footage/NOAA Historical footage VO: (Female VO talent Billie McBride) Still in its infancy in 1900, the science of forecasting evolved in the ensuing decades. Technologies emerged to improve observations and predictions. By mid-century, weather forecasting had improved, but to get the big picture, we needed a more omniscient observer: First, radar was adapted in the 1950s as a means to see local precipitation. TIROS 1 photo from NOAA NASA Thor Launch Cape Canaveral 1960. Text on screen: Polar Orbit Black and White LMSSC orbit animation Then, in 1960, TIROS-1, the first weather satellite was launched. Orbiting from pole-to-pole, early weather satellites were like a police officer on the beat, glimpsing clouds at every point on earth twice a day. NOAA Historical footage But severe weather changes fast, demanding a more persistent set of eyes in the sky. Text on screen: Geosynchronous Orbit Black and White LMSSC orbit animation A satellite twenty-three thousand miles over the equator would have an orbit that matches the earth’s rotation exactly. Such a “geostationary” satellite would be like a guard in a watchtower, spying clouds as they develop, and keeping forecasters one step ahead of the storm. NOAA Historical footage and still photo of GOES-1 Early experimental satellites proved this concept and the first Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite, NOAA’s GOES-1, was launched in 1975. NOAA Visualization Footage/LMSSC footage of NOAA forecast office Boulder, CO Since the advent of weather satellites, loss of life from storm surge has plummeted. And four generations of GOES have kept the promise that no hurricane would surprise Galveston – or any other city – ever again. Max Mayfield on camera statements Today especially weather disaster satellites… there’s no reason to be surprised. We’re still going to have hurricanes, we’re still going to have some loss of life… but there’s not going to be a total surprise because people can see the threat as it approaches the coast. NOAA Katrina GOES footage People say a picture is worth a thousand words. When people in Louisiana saw that satellite image of Hurricane Katrina that certainly got their attention. Curtis Sommerhoff on camera statements You know satellite imaging is critically important. It’s important to us. It’s important for the information that’s provided to us by the National Hurricane Center and NOAA Sandy GOES footage/LMSSC created “Weather Alert” graphic our Partners in the media and the way they present the information to the public. It’s it’s also very very crucial. Hurricane Sandy aftermath photos from FEMA. Woman Man with 2 FEMA officers Roller Coaster in water Continuity of GOES observations is now essential for community preparedness, as historic storms of the new millennium prove there is no end to the threat of deadly weather. Curtis Sommerhoff on camera statements I think trying to operate um and trying to make some of the decisions we need to make without the geostationary satellites being available to us would be… would be near impossible. LMSSC shot footage of Miami Beach Trying to make decisions for our county that’s two thousand square miles… two and a half million people…I just couldn’t imagine what we would have to do to be able to operate in that kind of a capacity. NOAA GOES-R animation NOAA’s newest satellite, GOES-R, offers the critical continuity of life saving weather observations. LMSSC GOES-R animation/NOAA Visualization footage/Goddard Space Flight Sun footage GOES-R will fly an advanced set of sensors: These new "watchful eyes" will monitor the atmosphere, the ocean surface, and even the sun, in more detail and more often than ever before. LMSSC GOES-R animation At the heart of GOES-R is the Advanced Baseline imager or ABI Paula Hartley on camera statements ABI gives us tremendous capability. It is the keystone of the GOES-R satellite. ABI will allow us to see the continental United States more often. It will be able to NOAA ABI images see things in much more detail. It will be able to see things sooner. NOAA GOES footage The Advanced Baseline Imager or ABI will image 6 times faster than its predecessors, seeing the entire hemisphere every 5 minutes, and will reveal twice the detail in cloud features. Curtis Sommerhoff on camera statements It’s going to save lives. It’s going to save, to save thousands of if not millions of dollars. Max Mayfield on camera statements Well they’re not just used for hurricanes. I mean they’re used for all types of weather – Artbeats thunderstorm stock footage, FEMA aftermath footage/photo Severe thunderstorms, tornado outbreaks, winter storms, flood events… Pond 5 Tornado stock footage/FEMA aftermath footage Preventing loss of life with earlier tornado warnings remains a challenge. LMSSC GOES-R animation Here, the first-ever Geostationary Lightning Mapper, or GLM, may make a big difference. Paula Hartley on camera statements GLM could double the lead time, the warning time, for an impending tornado. LMSSC GOES-R animation/Artbeats stock footage of thunderstorm Rapid increases in lightning inside clouds can distinguish a routine thundershower from a deadly tornado-producer. NOAA visualization footage GLM will watch for this severe-weather indicator on a second-by-second basis to inform NOAA forecasters. LMSSC GOES-R animation/Goddard Space flight solar footage GOES-R will also monitor the sun with a new Solar Ultraviolet Imager, or SUVI. Paula Hartley on camera statements The sun is the source of all of our weather and as such, we have a Solar Ultraviolet Imager that watches the sun continuously. LMSSC GOES-R animation/Goddard Space flight solar footage Solar storms can cause electrical power grid problems here on earth and can threaten space travel for astronauts and disrupt communications LMSSC GOES-R animation More than a triumph of technology, GOES-R will provide a window to our planet that will fill us with awe and, occasionally, alarm. GOES-R will draw a bead on future Katrina’s and Sandy’s long before they threaten our coast. Pond 5 FL thunderstorm stock footage And, for a generation to come, the daily march of other threatening weather will not LMSSC GOES-R animation escape NOAA’s new watchful eyes in space. Max Mayfield on camera statements There’s no doubt in my mind that th… geostationary satellite has helped save lives. Curtis Sommerhoff on camera statements Geostationary satellites absolutely save lives. Paula Hartley on camera statements When severe weather is coming, GOES-R will help communities prepare for the worst. Credits