The Global-scale Observations of the Limb (GOLD) is a payload funded by NASA hosted on board SES-14. The primary purpose of GOLD’s mission is to revolutionize the understanding of the space environment by filling the critical gap in knowledge of Sun-Earth connections.
The hosted payload observes the Sun’s impact on the Earth’s thermosphere and ionosphere from Geostationary Earth Orbit (GEO) and transmits science data through SES-14’s communications payload to the University of Colorado Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP) for processing. GOLD continues to make breakthrough measurements of temperature and composition that are important for understanding satellite drag and disruptions of communication and navigation driven by the ionosphere.