Weather Satellites: GOES 9

GOES 9 - Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite 9

Launch date: May 23, 1995

Launch site: Cape Canaveral, Florida

Launch vehicle: Atlas-I/Centaur

PROGRAM OBJECTIVE:

The GOES system is a basic element of U.S. weather monitoring and forecast operations and is a key component of NWS modernization program. Spacecraft and ground-based systems work together to accomplish the GOES mission of providing weather imagery and quantitative sounding data for weather forecasting and related services. The new series of GOES satellites provides significant improvements over the previous GOES system in weather imagery and atmospheric sounding information.

SPACECRAFT DESCRIPTION:

The spacecraft derive from Space System/Loral's communcations satellites, providing a 3-axis stabilized design. The main body of the spacecraft is a 2 meter cube, with a deployed length of 27 meters. The spacecraft weighs 4600 pounds. The GOES 9 system performs the following basic functions: Acquisition, processing, and dissemination of imaging and sounding data. Acquisition and dissemination of Space Environment Monitor (SEM) data. Reception and relay of data from ground-based Data Collection Platforms (DCPs) that are situated in carefully selected urban and remote areas to the NOAA Command and Data Acquisition (CDA) station. Continuous relay of Weather Facsimile (WEFAX) and other data to users, independent of all other functions. Relay of distress signals from people, aircraft, or marine vessels to the search and rescue ground stations of the Search and Rescue Satellite Aided Tracking (SARSAT) system. Many small improvements were made to GOES-9 to correct problems discovered during the construction, launch and operation of GOES-8 during the previous years. The earth sensors on GOES-9 are less sensitive to sunglint. The GOES-9 spacecraft is operational as GOES-WEST at 135W. GOES-9 was deactivated in August, 1998, due to failing bearings in the momentuum wheels.

Click here for an artist's sketch of GOES-9.

PARTICIPANTS:

NASA, NOAA, Space Systems/Loral, ITT, General Dynamics Space Systems Division.