Sensor · Spaceborne

Advanced Baseline Imager

Compiled from public sources on 2026-06-15. Not independently verified by L3harris.

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Missions → GOES-17 (Operational) , GOES-16 (Operational) , GOES-19 (Operational) , GOES-18 (Operational)

GOES-R Series multi-channel passive imaging radiometer for Earth weather, ocean, atmosphere, cloud, smoke, and surface observations.

Sensor

The Advanced Baseline Imager (ABI) is a 16-band passive optical radiometer built by L3Harris Technologies (Fort Wayne, IN) for NOAA's GOES-R satellite series. It covers visible, near-infrared, and infrared wavelengths, providing continuous imagery from geostationary orbit over the Western Hemisphere.^[1]^[2]

ABI offers spatial resolution ranging from 500 m at nadir to 2 km depending on spectral band, with 16 spectral bands spanning approximately 0.47 to 13.3 micrometres.^[2] The instrument produces routine full-disk scans, with faster mesoscale sector coverage available during severe weather events.^[1]

Flown on GOES-16, GOES-17, GOES-18, and GOES-19, ABI supports a wide range of operational products including atmospheric motion vectors, sea surface temperature, fire detection, precipitation estimation, and land surface temperature.^[3]

Where this fits, supply chain

Compositional position

GOES-17 ——— this payload

GOES-16 ——— this payload

GOES-19 ——— this payload

GOES-18 ——— this payload

this ——— GOES-17 (Operational) flies on

this ——— GOES-16 (Operational) flies on

this ——— GOES-19 (Operational) flies on

this ——— GOES-18 (Operational) flies on

Methods this sensor implements

Demonstrated

Atmospheric motion vectors (AMV)via GOES-16
ABI imagery supports atmospheric motion vector products.
Sea-surface temperature retrievalvia GOES-16
ABI thermal infrared bands support sea-surface temperature products.
Thermal anomaly detectionvia GOES-16
ABI supports fire detection and intensity estimation products.

Capable, undemonstrated

None on record.

Topics this relates to

Atmospheric Wind Observation Atmospheric motion vectors (AMV)(demonstrated)well suited

Sea surface temperature Sea-surface temperature retrieval(demonstrated)well suited

Ocean heat content Sea-surface temperature retrieval(demonstrated)marginal

Industrial emissions Thermal anomaly detection(demonstrated)well suited

Wildfire Thermal anomaly detection(demonstrated)well suited

Geology and geohazards Thermal anomaly detection(demonstrated)adequate

Air quality Thermal anomaly detection(demonstrated)marginal

Building thermal performance Thermal anomaly detection(demonstrated)marginal

CO2 Thermal anomaly detection(demonstrated)marginal