GOES 1

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GOES A lifts off aboard Delta Launch Vehicle 116.

[edit] Launch

GOES-A was launched as GOES-A on October 16, 1975 atop a Delta 2914 launch #116 from the Kennedy Space Center and placed in a geostationary orbit directly over the equator and the Indian Ocean to gather data for the Global Atmospheric Research Program (GARP). First of several meteorological satellites in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite program (GOES).

Its payload included the Visible Infrared Spin Scan Radiometer (VISSER) whose job would be to provide day and night imagery of terrestrial cloud conditions.

[edit] Activity

GOES-1 was the name it acquired when it became the first active satellite in NOAA's geosynchronous weather satellite system and sent its first image back nine days later on October 25, 1975. The satellite continuously monitored weather events and relayed this meteorological data from over 10,000 surface locations into a central processing center. The data was then incorporated into numerous weather prediction models.

A Space Environment Monitor (SEM) and Data Collection System (DCS) similar to those on the NOAA polar orbiters was also installed.

The satellite was moved to replace SMS II (Pacific) when GOES 3 was launched. It remained operational over the equatorial Pacific until deactivated by NASA on March 7, 1985.

NSSDC ID: 1975-100A-02