Science & Tech · Space · 10 hrs ago
NASA launched the first operational GOES weather satellite in 1975
NASA launched GOES-A on Oct.
16, 1975, beginning the first operational GOES weather satellite program.
NASA and the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration jointly operated the satellite, which lifted off from Cape Canaveral, Florida.
Renamed GOES-1 when it became operational, it stayed over the Indian Ocean, facing the same part of Earth as it orbited.
It sent back its first image nine days after launch and used visible and infrared instruments to observe clouds and surface temperatures.
GOES-1 gave forecasters near-real-time views of weather from a fixed location, helping them track conditions with the best satellite observations then available.
The GOES fleet has since grown through several generations, supporting short-term forecasts and warnings of severe weather and environmental hazards in the Western Hemisphere.
NOAA's latest listed launch was GOES-U in 2024, following the start of the next-generation series in 2016.
NASA launched GOES-A, the first operational Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite, on Oct. 16, 1975.
The satellite was jointly operated by NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
After it became operational, GOES-A was renamed GOES-1 and provided weather forecasters with observations from a fixed location.
It returned its first photo on Oct. 25, 1975, and remained active until March 7, 1985.
The GOES fleet has since expanded, with GOES-U launched in 2024.
- Who
- NASA launched GOES-A, which NASA and NOAA jointly operated.
- What
- The first operational GOES weather satellite was launched.
- When
- Oct. 16, 1975.
- Where
- From Cape Canaveral, Florida.
- Why
- To provide weather observations from space for forecasting and monitoring.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
NASA launched GOES-A from Cape Canaveral, Florida.
GOES-A returned its first photo, nine days after launch.
GOES-1 was decommissioned.
NASA and NOAA launched GOES-R, the first satellite in a next-generation series.
NOAA launched the GOES-U weather satellite.
- Launch date
- Oct. 16, 1975
- Satellite at launch
- GOES-A
- Operational name
- GOES-1
- Launch site
- Cape Canaveral, Florida
- First photo
- Oct. 25, 1975
- Decommissioned
- March 7, 1985
What people are saying
gave forecasters their first near-real time look at atmospheric conditions from a fixed location
For 50 years, GOES data has been the backbone of short-term forecasts and warnings of severe weather and environmental hazards in the Western Hemisphere and forecasts and warnings of space weather hazards
Each successive generation of GOES has brought improvements and new capabilities to monitor our part of the world.