The Lockheed Martin team developing NASA and NOAA's Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-R series (GOES-R) satellite has successfully completed the spacecraft Critical Design Review (CDR), a major milestone that paves the way for the production of the nation's next-generation geostationary weather satellite system.

The week-long review included a series of comprehensive presentations from each of the system and subsystem subject matter experts representing all facets of the spacecraft.

The team demonstrated that the design and operations are understood and sufficiently mature to begin the build and integration phase.

"The successful execution of this review was critical as it validated our depth of understanding of the mission requirements and our readiness to transition from the design to the build phase," said Paula Hartley, program manager for GOES-R at Lockheed Martin Space Systems.

"Our team understands the importance of this mission and we're committed to the continuity of the GOES system. Passing the CDR means we are now one step closer to the 2015 launch of the first spacecraft in the R series."

Data from NOAA's GOES satellites provide accurate real-time weather forecasts and early warning products to the public and private sectors.

The advanced spacecraft and instrument technology used on the GOES-R series will improve forecasting quality and timeliness, generating significant economic benefits to the nation in the areas of public safety, climate monitoring, space weather prediction, ecosystems management, commerce, and transportation.

The NOAA Satellite and Information Service funds, manages, and will operate the GOES-R program. NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center oversees the acquisition of the GOES-R spacecraft and instruments for NOAA.