Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites-R Series - NOAA and NASA program
Original (non-English) name
Acronym
GOES-R Series - NOAA-NASA
Citation
Abstract
NOAA’s latest generation of Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites (GOES), known as the GOES-R Series, is the nation’s most advanced fleet of geostationary weather satellites. Geostationary satellites circle the Earth in geosynchronous orbit, which means they orbit the Earth’s equatorial plane at a speed matching the Earth’s rotation. This allows them to stay in a fixed position in the sky, remaining stationary with respect to a point on the ground. GOES satellites continually view the Western Hemisphere from approximately 22,300 miles above Earth. GOES satellites are designated with a letter prior to launch and renamed with a number once they reach geostationary orbit.
The GOES-R Series is a four-satellite program including GOES-R, GOES-S, GOES-T and GOES-U. The GOES-R Series is a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) mission, supported by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). NOAA manages the GOES-R Series Program through an integrated NOAA-NASA office, with personnel from both agencies. NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center oversees the acquisition of the GOES-R spacecraft and instruments and NASA’s Kennedy Space Center manages launch services. NOAA manages the ground system, operates the satellites, and distributes their data to users worldwide.
The GOES-R Series maintains the two-satellite operational system implemented by the previous GOES satellites. However, the locations of the operational GOES-R Series satellites are 75.2⁰ W and 137.2⁰ W, instead of 75⁰ W and 135⁰ W. These shifts eliminate conflicts with other satellite systems. NOAA also maintains an on-orbit spare GOES satellite at 105⁰ W in the event of an anomaly or failure of GOES East or GOES West. The GOES History page of this site provides a look back at the GOES program.